Association of antibiotic prescribing rate for self limiting respiratory tract infection with use of decision support tools, by age group
| Fourth of decision support tool use | RTI consultations with DST viewed (%) | Antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infection/No of person years) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Age 0-14 years | Age 15-84 years | Age ≥85 years | ||
| Usual care trial arm | — | 27 923/259 519.7 | 6432/46 019.6 | 20 811/207 611.4 | 680/5888.7 |
| Lowest fourth | 0 to 0.6 | 7190/85 805.1 | 1932/15 699.9 | 5089/68 220.1 | 169/1885.1 |
| Second fourth | 0.6 to 2.9 | 7765/74 868.3 | 1706/12 009.4 | 5837/60 825.5 | 222/2033.4 |
| Third fourth | 2.9 to 6.1 | 10 647/91 986.9 | 2339/15 233.4 | 7957/74 735.5 | 351/2018.0 |
| Highest fourth | 6.1 to 27.6 | 6305/70 495.1 | 1520/10 883.6 | 4668/58 060.1 | 117/1551.3 |
| Relative risk reduction (%; 95% CI) per fourth increase in decision support tools*† | — | 3.4 (0.1 to 6.5) | 1.60 (−2.7 to 5.7) | 4.3 (1.1 to 7.5) | 1.0 (−4.6 to 6.3) |
| P value | — | 0.04 | — | — | — |
* Adjusted for random effect of general practice and fixed effects of sex, age group, comorbidity, region, quarter in study, practice specific rate at baseline, and interaction with period.
† Rate ratio represents the reduction in antibiotic prescribing per fourth increase in decision support tools.