Delayed antibiotic prescribing

Delayed prescriptions are a recommended strategy for people presenting with upper respiratory tract infections (URTI). It involves giving a prescription to a patient with instructions to use it if symptoms persist or worsen. It appears to have clinical benefit, a Cochrane review of 11 randomised controlled trials reported a reduction in rates of immediate prescriptions compared to delayed prescriptions (93% vs 32%) (Spurling et al, 2017). Yet, despite this evidence and recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) (2008) advocating their use, there appears to be reticence in the prescribing community to regularly issue them. This research roundup will explore some of the evidence about prescribers' perceptions of delayed prescriptions for people presenting to primary care with URTIs. A search of the literature yielded five articles; four qualitative studies and one quantitative survey. Three of the studies explored views of UK-based prescribers, two were from Scandanavia and one from Australia.