Get Smart About Antibiotics Week 2013

Infections caused by resistant bacteria have become more common, and many bacteria have become resistant to multiple antibiotics. CDC released a report in September 2013 documenting that each year more than two million people in the United States get infections that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die as a result. This trend demands urgent action by patients, healthcare providers, facility administrators and health care insurers to preserve the last lines of defense against many of these germs. In conjunction with Get Smart About Antibiotics Week (November 18-24), the American Academy of Pediatrics, in collaboration with CDC, released new guidance for treating common pediatric upper respiratory infections.

The abstract from the journal reads:

“Most upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses and require no antibiotics. This clinical report focuses on antibiotic prescribing strategies for bacterial upper respiratory tract infections, including acute otitis media, acute bacterial sinusitis, and streptococcal pharyngitis. The principles for judicious antibiotic prescribing that are outlined focus on applying stringent diagnostic criteria, weighing the benefits and harms of antibiotic therapy, and understanding situations when antibiotics may not be indicated. The principles can be used to amplify messages from recent clinical guidelines for local guideline development and for patient communication; they are broadly applicable to antibiotic prescribing in general. Pediatrics 2013;132:1146–1154”

Posted by Tim Sandle