HIGH PRESCRIBERS OF ANTIBIOTICS AMONG GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS - RELATION TO PRESCRIBING HABITS OF OTHER DRUGS AND USE OF MICROBIOLOGICAL DIAGNOSTICS

General practitioners' (GPs') prescriptions of antibiotics have shown large variations and may not always be rational. We analysed GPs' pres criptions and use of microbiological diagnostics in Viborg County duri ng a 6-month period in 1992 based on Danish Health Service data. In a logistic regression model we tried to identify potential predictors fo r a high prescriber of antibiotics, i.e. the GPs with the highest numb er of prescriptions per patient (upper quartile). Two categories were calculated for the predictor variables, dividing the distribution by t he median value. The most liberal GP wrote 15 times as many prescripti ons for antibiotics per patient as the most restrictive GP. A strong p redictor for high prescribing of antibiotics was the number of prescri ptions for other drags per patient [odds ratio (OR) 12.3, 95% CI: 2.8- 54.4] after adjustment for age and sex. High use of throat swabs was a strong negative predictor of high prescribing of antibiotics (OR 0.2, 95% CI: 0.1-0.8) while high use of cultures (OR 2.4, 95% CI: 0.8-6.9) and of urinary susceptibility tests (OR 3.1, 95% CI: 1.1-9.3) were po sitive predictors. The GP's general attitude to pharmacotherapy seems important for antimicrobial chemotherapy, and if use of antibiotics sh ould be reduced, targeted strategies should be aimed at high prescribe rs.