Management of upper respiratory tract infections in primary care in Italy:a national survey

This prospective study, carried out in Italy during the winter of 1998 by t he means of questionnaires, was designed to investigate the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of the Italian general practitioners (GPs) to the mana gement of acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in adult outpati ents. A total of 354 GPs were questioned about ten adult patients each who had visited the surgery with an URTI requiring an antibiotic prescription. Our data showed there was a tendency to prescribe antibiotics only on the b asis of clinical diagnosis, microbiological investigations bring required v ery rarely. Orally administered antibiotics were preferred and compliance w ith the number of daily doses strongly influenced the antibiotic prescripti on. In patients affected by mon severe infections. injectable antibiotics w ere frequently prescribed. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. and International Society of Chemotherapy All rights reserved.