@article {Elshout810, author = {Gijs Elshout and Marijke Kool and Johannes C. Van der Wouden and Henri{\"e}tte A. Moll and Bart W. Koes and Marjolein Y. Berger}, title = {Antibiotic Prescription in Febrile Children: A Cohort Study during Out-of-Hours Primary Care}, volume = {25}, number = {6}, pages = {810--818}, year = {2012}, doi = {10.3122/jabfm.2012.06.110310}, publisher = {The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine}, abstract = {Background: Fever is common in children and often self-limiting, nevertheless antibiotics are frequently prescribed. We determined how often antibiotics were prescribed in children presenting with fever at a family physicians{\textquoteright} out-of-hours service and established the children{\textquoteright}s signs and symptoms related to antibiotic prescriptions. Patients: Children aged 3 months to 6 years with fever as the main reason for contact. Results: Of the 443 included children, 322 children had a face-to-face contact at the out-of-hours service. Of these, 117 (36.3\%) were prescribed antibiotics, that is, 26.5\% of the total study population. Concerned parents (OR, 2.02; 95\% CI, 1.06{\textendash}3.58), ill appearance (3.26; 1.30{\textendash}8.20), earache resulting in altered behavioral or sleeping patterns (2.59; 1.06{\textendash}6.30), signs of throat infection (2.37; 1.35{\textendash}4.15), and decreased urine production (2.00; 1.17{\textendash}3.41) were positively associated with antibiotic prescription. A negative association was found for age 3 to 6 months (0.17; 0.03{\textendash}0.74) and temperature (0.52; 0.37{\textendash}0.71). Conclusions: Antibiotics were prescribed in 1 out of 4 febrile children whose parents contacted the out-of-hours service. Items associated with antibiotic prescription provide insight into the family physicians{\textquoteright} decision-making process when assessing children with fever. These can be used as targets for strategies to diminish antibiotic prescription.}, issn = {1557-2625}, URL = {https://www.jabfm.org/content/25/6/810}, eprint = {https://www.jabfm.org/content/25/6/810.full.pdf}, journal = {The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine} }