Noting the public health threat of antibiotic resistance and the role antibiotics play in medication-related adverse events, physicians associated with the CDC and American College of Physicians (ACP) have issued guidelines on the appropriate use of antibiotics for patients that present with respiratory tract infections.
According to researchers, physicians should not perform testing or prescribe antibiotics for patients with uncomplicated bronchitis unless pneumonia is suspected.
“Acute bronchitis is among the most common adult outpatient diagnoses, with about 100 million (10%) ambulatory care visits in the United States per year, more than 70% of which result in a prescription for antibiotics,” researchers wrote. “Acute bronchitis leads to more inappropriate antibiotic prescribing than any other ARTI syndrome in adults.”
CDC, ACP Ask Physicians to Curb Antibiotics for Common Respiratory Infections
