International Journal of Preventive Medicine (Int J Prev Med)2008-7802002015021714771477EN20150217<strong>Background:</strong> Irrational antibiotic prescribing as a global health problem has a major infuence on medical care quality and healthcare expenditure. This study was aimed&nbsp; to determine&nbsp; the pattern of antibiotic use and to assess the seasonality and physician‑related factors associated with variability in antibiotic prescribing in Isfahan province of Iran.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> This&nbsp; cross‑sectional&nbsp; survey was&nbsp; conducted on all prescriptions&nbsp; issued by general physicians&nbsp; from&nbsp; rural and urban areas&nbsp; in 2011. Associations between&nbsp; season of prescribing and physician‑related variables&nbsp; including gender, practice&nbsp; location and&nbsp; time since graduation with antibiotic prescriptions and also the pattern of antibiotic prescribing were assessed using Chi‑square tests and multiple logistic regression models.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> Of&nbsp; the 7439709 prescriptions&nbsp; issued by 3772 general practitioners, 51% contained at&nbsp; least one antibiotic. Penicillins were&nbsp; the most&nbsp; frequently prescribed antibiotics,&nbsp; followed by <br />cephalosporins and macrolides. Over‑prescription of penicillins was associated with&nbsp; female gender (odds ratio&nbsp; [OR], 2.61; 95% confdence interval [CI] 2.13&ndash;3.19) and with moderate duration of time in practice (10&ndash;20 years) (OR, 1.42; 95% CI 1.14&ndash;1.76). Higher rates of cephalosporins prescription were observed in urban areas than rural areas and by male physicians. Seasonal peak was detected for penicillins and cephalosporins prescriptions in autumn.<br /><strong>Conclusions:</strong> These fndings showed the widespread use of antibiotics by general practitioners that was associated with&nbsp; the physicians&rsquo; gender,&nbsp; time since graduation and practice&nbsp; location <br />and also season of prescribing. More&nbsp; researches are needed on other&nbsp; factors&nbsp; related&nbsp; to&nbsp; the overprescribing&nbsp; of&nbsp; antibiotics&nbsp; and&nbsp; they&nbsp; could&nbsp; be&nbsp; used&nbsp; to&nbsp; project&nbsp; educational&nbsp; programs&nbsp; for improvement of antibiotic prescribing quality in our country.<br /><strong>Keywords:</strong> Antibiotics, general practice, prescriptions patter, rational drug usehttp://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/view/1477http://ijpm.mui.ac.ir/index.php/ijpm/article/download/1477/1763