Table 4.
Differences in actions taken during consultation with nurse and general practitioners (values adjusted for age, sex, and intracluster correlation)
| Action | Nurse practitioner
|
General practitioner
|
Odds ratio (95% CI) | P value | Intracluster correlation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No of patients | % | No of patients | % | |||||
| Physical examination | 590/640 | 88.1 | 572/649 | 92.2 | 1.76 (0.90 to 3.42) | 0.097 | 0.10 | |
| Prescription given | 391/641 | 61.0 | 421/651 | 64.7 | 0.88 (0.66 to 1.17) | 0.375 | 0.03 | |
| Antibiotic prescribed | 195/641 | 30.4 | 207/651 | 31.7 | 0.94 (0.76 to 1.17) | 0.576 | 0.0* | |
| Investigation carried out | 56/641 | 8.7 | 37/651 | 5.6 | 1.66 (1.04 to 2.66) | 0.033 | 0.01 | |
| Hospital referral | 11/641 | 1.7 | 25/651 | 3.8 | 0.50 (0.16 to 1.63) | 0.250 | 0.08 | |
| Asked to return | 236/634 | 37.2 | 161/648 | 24.8 | 1.93 (1.36 to 2.73) | <0.001 | 0.05 | |
| Actually returned | 224/634 | 35.3 | 184/647 | 28.4 | 1.42 (1.18 to 1.71) | <0.001 | 0.0* | |
*
Negative estimate of intracluster correlation coefficient.