Respiratory tract infections in Norwegian primary care 2006-2015: a registry-based study.

OBJECTIVE: Examine characteristics and time trends of respiratory tract infection (RTI) consultations in Norwegian primary care and compare consultations in daytime general practice and out-of-hours (OOH) services. DESIGN: Registry-based study using reimbursement claims data. SETTING: All in-person primary care consultations during 2006-2015. PATIENTS: All patients visiting primary care during the study period. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome variable was RTI consultations. Differences regarding service type (general practice or OOH services) and changes over time were investigated. We report associations with patient age and sex, season, point-of-care C-reactive protein (CRP) test use, and sickness certificate issuing. RESULTS: RTI consultations (n = 16 304 777) represented 11.6% of all consultations (N = 140 199 637) in primary care over the ten-year period. The annual number of RTI consultations per 1000 inhabitants decreased from 335 to 314, while the number of consultations for any reason increased. Of RTI consultations, 83.2% occurred in general practice. OOH services had a higher proportion of RTI consultations (21.4%) compared with general practice (10.6%). Young children (0-4 years) represented 18.9% of all patients in RTI consultations. CRP testing was used in 56.2% of RTI consultations, and use increased over time. Sickness certificates were issued in 31.9% of RTI consultations with patients of working age (20-67 years). CONCLUSION: Most RTI consultations occurred in general practice, although the proportion was higher in OOH services. Laboratory testing and/or issuing of sickness certificates were part of most consultations. This could be an important reason for seeking health care. Key PointsPatients with a respiratory tract infection (RTI) are mostly managed in primary care, where they represent much of the workload.Most consultations for RTIs took place in daytime general practice, but out-of-hours services had a higher proportion of RTI consultations.RTIs were the dominating reason for encounter among young children both in out-of-hours services and daytime general practice.CRP tests were used in over half of RTI consultations, and their use expanded over time.

Antibiotics for gastroenteritis in general practice and out-of-hour services in Norway 2006-15.

BACKGROUND: When patients with gastroenteritis (GE) seek health care, they are generally managed in primary care. Little is known about the use of antibiotic treatment in these cases. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate time trends and patient characteristics associated with antibiotic treatment for GE in Norwegian primary care in a 10-year period. METHODS: We linked data from two nationwide registries, reimbursement claims data from Norwegian primary care (the KUHR database) and The Norwegian Prescription Database, for the period 2006-15. GE consultations were extracted, and courses of systemic antibiotics dispensed within 1 day were included for further analyses. RESULTS: Antibiotic treatment was linked to 1.8% (n = 23 663) of the 1 279 867 consultations for GE in Norwegian primary care in the period 2006-15. The proportion of GE consultations with antibiotic treatment increased from 1.4% in 2006 to 2.2% in 2012 and then decreased to 1.8% in 2015. Fluoroquinolones (28.9%) and metronidazole (26.8%) were most frequently used. Whereas the number of fluoroquinolones courses decreased after 2012, the number of metronidazole courses continued to increase until year 2015. The antibiotic treatment proportion of GE consultations was lowest in young children and increased with increasing age. CONCLUSION: Antibiotic treatment is infrequently used in GE consultations in Norwegian primary care. Although there was an overall increase in use during the study period, we observed a reduction in overall use after year 2012. Young children were treated with antibiotics in GE consultations less frequent than older patients.