Physician adherence to acute rhinosinusitis antibiotic treatment guidelines

Antibiotic treatment guidelines promote proper diagnosis and treatment and optimize antibiotic treatment, minimizing both antimicrobial resistance to antibiotics and financial expenditure. This study aimed to investigate whether community physicians and emergency department (ED) physicians diagnose and treat acute rhinosinusitis according to accepted guidelines. This was a retrospective study of medical records and referrer letters of patients admitted to the medical center between 2014 and 2015. Physician adherence to antibiotic guidelines regarding indication, type and duration of treatment was assessed. Overall, the study included 84 patients diagnosed with acute rhinosinusitis and admitted to the ED. Fewer than 20% of doctors treating patients with rhinosinusitis at our institution followed the current recommended guidelines. In most cases, the type of treatment administered by ED physicians and by community physicians complied with the guidelines (90% and 96%, respectively, p=0.564). The duration of treatment prescribed by the ED physicians aligned with the guidelines in 37.7% of the cases. There was insufficient compliance with acute rhinosinusitis treatment guidelines among all treating physicians in this study, which was characterized by excessive antibiotic treatment. Therefore, ways to increase understanding and adherence to clinical guidelines, and to provide optimal settings in the clinics to carry out the guidelines should be investigated.

Implementation of the concept of standard operating procedures into primary care practice: utopia or urgent need?

The article emphasizes the need to develop and apply standard operating procedures (SOP) as an instrument of quality management system of rational pharmacotherapy in primary care practice. To justify the reasonability of SOP implementation into outpatient clinical practice pharmacoepidemiologic analysis of the quality of care provided to patients with stable coronary artery disease in the primary care setting of Moscow over two consecutive periods was used. tte key variables of interest were characteristics that reflected physician adherence to clinical practice guidelines.

Multivariable Analysis of Primary Care Physician Adherence to Guideline-recommended Pharmacotherapy of Stable Coronary Artery Disease

Aim. To study predictors of primary care physician adherence to guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy of stable coronary artery disease.Material and methods. This pharmacoepidemiologic cross-sectional study was conducted in primary care setting of Moscow. 805 patients (mean age 68.9±9.9 years, males 51.4%) with established stable coronary artery disease (SCAD) were included. Demography, medical history, prescribed pharmacological treatment data were obtained. Physician adherence to guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy (GRP) of SCAD was evaluated based on the Class I guideline recommendations. Pharmacotherapeutic guideline adherence index (PGAI) was introduced as composite quality indicator, calculated in line with “all-or-none” rule and in regard with documented contraindications. To search for predictors of adherence the patient population was divided in two groups by level of physician adherence measured by PGAI. Statistical analysis was performed by IBM SPSS Statistics 16.0, the level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05.Results. The prescription rates of essential drug therapies of SCAD (regarding contraindications) were quite adequate: beta-blockers/calcium channel blockers – 90,1%, acetylsalicylic acid/clopidogrel/oral anticoagulants – 95,7%, statins/ezetimibe – 86,3%, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers – 87,6%. 82,9% (n=667) of patients were prescribed treatment for SCAD in compliance with the guidelines. Suboptimal pharmacotherapy was identified in 17,1% (n=138) of patients. These groups were similar in sex distribution (males 50,4 vs. 56,5%; p=0,188). Mean age tended to be lower in GRP adherent group (68,5±9,9 vs. 70,6±10,0 years; p=0,052). Bivariable analysis showed that good adherence to guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy was associated with higher prevalence of stable angina (66,4 vs. 53,6%; p=0,004), arterial hypertension (93,3 vs. 79,7%; p<0,001) and dyslipidemia (21,4 vs. 9,4%; p<0,001) and with lower prevalence of myocardial infarction (48,1 vs. 67,4%; p<0,001). Logistic multivariable regression model (gender, age, 6 medical history variables) identified 6 patient-related factors that were significantly associated with physician adherence to guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy: age (odds ratio [OR] 0,97; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0,95-0,99; p=0,009), arterial hypertension (OR 3,89; 95%CI 2,19-6,90; p<0,001), dyslipidemia (OR 2,31; 95%CI 1,23-4,34; p=0,009), chronic heart failure (OR 1,95; 95%CI 1,06-3,61; p=0,032), revascularization (OR 2,14; 95%CI 1,33-3,45; p=0,002), myocardial infarction (OR 0,28; 95%CI 0,16-0,48; p<0,001).Conclusion. Primary care cardiologist adherence to guideline-recommended pharmacotherapy of SCAD was satisfactory evaluated as 82,9% by composite indicator PGAI. Arterial hypertension, heart failure, dyslipidemia и revascularization were predictors of better physician adherence. History of myocardial infarction and older age were risk factors of non-adherence. Identification of patient-related factors associated with underperformance may facilitate tailoring quality improvement interventions in primary care of coronary patients.

Evaluating Physician Adherence to Antithrombotic Recommendations in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Pathway to Better Medical Education

Background: Atrial fibrillation is a major health problem due to the stroke risk associated with it. To reduce stroke risk, oral anticoagulants (OAC) are prescribed using the CHA2DS2-VASc (Congestive heart failure; Hypertension; Age ≥75 years; Diabetes Mellitus; Stroke; Vascular disease; Age 65–74 years; Sex category) risk score, a clinical probability assessment that includes a combination of risk factors predicting the probability of a stroke. Not all patients with high risk are receiving this treatment. The aim of this study was to assess physician adherence to clinical guidelines concerning the OAC treatment and to identify the factors that were associated with the decision to prescribe it. Methods: Registry data from 784 patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation were evaluated in this retrospective cross-sectional study. Demographic data, subtype of AF, comorbidities associated with higher stroke and bleeding risk, and antithrombotic treatment received were recorded. We compared stroke and bleeding risk in patients with and without OAC treatment to determine if the clinicians followed guidelines: prescribed when necessary and abstained when not needed. Results: OAC treatment was administered in 617 (78.7%) patients. Of the 167 patients who did not receive OAC, 161 (96.4%) were undertreated according to their risk score, as opposed to those who received OAC in which the percentage of overtreated was 3.2%. Most undertreated patients (60.5%, p < 0.001) were with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation subtype. Conclusions: The decision to use anticoagulants for stroke prevention was based on the type of atrial fibrillation, rather than on the risk of stroke as quantified by CHA2DS2-VASc as per the recommended guidelines.

Physician adherence to clinical guidelines in euthanasia and assisted suicide in the Netherlands: a qualitative study

Background Euthanasia and assisted suicide laws in the Netherlands require physicians meet clinical guidelines when performing the practice to ensure death is peaceful and painless. Despite oversight by the regional review committees over each case, little research exists into the frequency of guideline deviation and the reasons for nonadherence. Methods Cases reported and reviewed between 2012 and 2017 that did not meet due medical care were analysed for thematic content. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 11 Dutch physicians on their experience with the clinical and pharmacological elements of euthanasia and assisted suicide, their interaction and comportment with the recommended guidelines, and reasons why guideline deviation might occur. Reported case reviews and interviews were used to obtain themes and subthemes to understand how and why deviations from clinical guidelines happened. Results Violations of due medical care were found in 42 (0.07%) of reported cases. The regional review committees found physicians in violation of due medical care mostly for inadequate confirmation of coma-induction and deviations from recommended drug dosages. Physicians reported that they rarely deviated from the guidelines, with the most common reasons being concern for the patient’s family, concern over the drug efficacy, mistrust in the provided guidelines, or relying on the poor advice of pharmacists or hospital administrators. Conclusions Deviations from the guidelines and violations of due medical care are rare, but should nonetheless be monitored and prevented. A few areas for improvement include skills training for physicians, consistency between review committee rulings, and further clarity on dosage recommendations.