Respiratory Season and Antibiotics
Respiratory illness season is in full swing and many states are seeing high levels of influenza, COVID-19, and RSV. The graph below shows the rates of hospitalizations associated with viral respiratory illnesses in the United States. https://www.cdc.gov/resp-net/dashboard/index.html While antibiotics are not effective for treating viral illnesses, they are nonetheless still prescribed in many cases. The use of antibiotics and other infection-fighting medications when not indicated have increased the rate of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. In addition to the threat of antibiotic resistance, the use of antimicrobials increases costs and puts patients at risk of serious side effects. Antibiotics are used with the intention of killing a particular bacteria. The categories of prescribing include prophylactic, empiric, and therapeutic. Prophylactic antibiotics are used to prevent an infection. These are commonly used in patients who…
