Table 2.
Re-consultation with new or worsening symptoms in the month following the index consultation, according to duration of antibiotic prescribed and antibiotic classa
| Reported new or worsening symptoms, n (%) | Univariate risk ratio (95% CI, P-value) | Risk ratio controlling for baseline severity and clustering (95% CI, P-value) | Risk ratio controlling for propensity score (95% CI), P-value | Risk ratio controlling for propensity score in the imputed dataset (95% CI), P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duration of antibiotic prescription | |||||
| 5 days (reference category) | 222/1449 (15.3) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| 7 days | 577/4135 (13.9) | 0.91 (0.75 to 1.05) P= 0.201 |
0.93 (0.78 to 1.08) P= 0.321 |
0.92 (0.76 to 1.11) P= 0.377 |
0.92 (0.76 to 1.10) P= 0.360 |
| 10 days | 198/1620 (12.2) | 0.80 (0.67 to 0.95) P= 0.013 |
0.81 (0.55 to 1.19) P= 0.287 |
0.86 (0.59 to 1.23) P= 0.408 |
0.85 (0.59 to 1.23) P= 0.395 |
| Antibiotic class | |||||
| Phenoxymethylpenicillin (reference category) | 725/5624 (12.9) | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Other antibiotics | 302/1847 (16.3) | 1.27 (1.12 to 1.44) P<0.001 |
1.28 (1.11 to 1.47) P= 0.001 |
1.27 (1.11 to 1.49) P= 0.002 |
1.26 (1.09 to 1.45) P= 0.001 |
a
All models controlled for immediate or delayed prescribing and clustering of patients by practice.