BACKGROUND Since the 1998 European Respiratory Society (ERS) lower respiratory tract
infection (LRTI) guidelines 1 were published, the evidence on which they were based has …

Background Antibiotic use and concomitant resistance are increasing. Literature reviews do
not unambiguously indicate which interventions are most effective in improving antibiotic …

Unlike most other drugs that only affect individual patients if used incorrectly for self-medication,
misused antibiotics add to the global risk of increased spread of bacterial resistance. …

Background Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccines prevent pneumococcal
disease in infants, but their efficacy against pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia in …

Background Postherpetic neuralgia is the most frequent complication of herpes zoster. Treatment
of this neuropathic pain syndrome is difficult and often disappointing. We assessed the …

Objective: To determine the effect of antibiotic treatment for acute otitis media in children
between 6 months and 2 years of age. Design: Practice based, double blind, randomised, …

Objectives To quantify the diagnostic accuracy of selected inflammatory markers in addition
to symptoms and signs for predicting pneumonia and to derive a diagnostic tool. Design …

Background and objective: Indicators to measure the quality of healthcare are increasingly
used by healthcare professionals and policy makers. In the context of increasing antimicrobial …

Background. Numerous studies suggest overprescribing of antibiotics for respiratory tract
indications (RTIs), without really authenticating inappropriate prescription; the strict criteria of …

Objectives To assess the effectiveness of a multiple intervention aimed at reducing antibiotic
prescription rates for symptoms of the respiratory tract in primary care. Design Randomised …