Impact of the presence of chronic diseases on compliance of antibiotic prescriptions with the provincial clinical guideline for the treatment of otitis media or respiratory infections in children, April 2010 to March 2017
| Infection | Chronic disease category* | No. of prescriptions | Recommended antibiotic, % | Proportion ratio* (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unadjusted | Adjusted | ||||
| Otitis | None | 167066 | 97.9 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 265 | 97.7 | 1.00 (0.98–1.02) | 1.00 (0.98–1.02) | |
| Mental health disorder | 14995 | 97.7 | 1.00 (1.00–1.00) | 1.00 (1.00–1.00) | |
| Respiratory disease | 19300 | 97.4 | 1.00 (0.99–1.00) | 1.00 (0.99–1.00) | |
| Pharyngitis | None | 86131 | 90.6 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 180 | 89.4 | 1.00 (0.95–1.05) | 0.99 (0.95–1.04) | |
| Mental health disorder | 9497 | 88.7 | 0.98 (0.98–0.99) | 0.99 (0.98–0.99) | |
| Respiratory disease | 14558 | 88.4 | 0.98 (0.97–0.99) | 0.98 (0.97–0.99) | |
| Pneumonia | None | 25240 | 90.1 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 55 | 87.3 | 0.97 (0.87–1.07) | 0.97 (0.87–1.07) | |
| Mental health disorder | 2771 | 89.8 | 1.00 (0.98–1.01) | 0.99 (0.98–1.01) | |
| Respiratory disease | 5132 | 88.9 | 0.98 (0.97–0.99) | 0.98 (0.97–0.99) | |
| Sinusitis | None | 10410 | 93.6 | Ref. | Ref. |
| Diabetes | 41 | 97.6 | 1.05 (1.00–1.11) | 1.06 (1.00–1.11) | |
| Mental health disorder | 1958 | 92.5 | 1.00 (0.99–1.01) | 1.00 (0.99–1.01) | |
| Respiratory disease | 2814 | 90.2 | 0.96 (0.95–0.98) | 0.97 (0.96–0.98) | |
Note: CI = confidence interval, Ref. = reference category.
↵* Categories of chronic diseases are not mutually exclusive, so the total number of prescriptions is not equal to the sum of prescriptions for each chronic disease category, and unadjusted proportion ratios are adjusted for the other categories of chronic diseases. The adjusted regressions were also adjusted for year, age group, sex, geographical zone and quintiles of deprivation.