Document Type
Poster Session
Publication Date
12-5-2014
Research Advisor(s)
Dr. Douglas Anderson; Rebecca Widder
Keywords
Antibiotic, antibiotic resistance, antibiotic stewardship, Azithromycin, acute upper respiratory infection
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance is a problem that is growing worldwide. Misuse and overprescribing of antibiotics leads to a rise in pathogens that are resistant to the conventional drugs prescribed, causing increases in morbidity and mortality rates. Antibiotic resistance occurs when microbes still survive despite the presence of an antibiotic. The remaining microbes grow in strength and multiply until there is a population that are now resistant to treatment. One such treatment is azithromycin, an antibiotic often prescribed for upper respiratory tract infections (URI). A URI is any infection of the respiratory tract from the nasal cavities to the larynx that can have symptoms ranging from acute to severe and life-threatening. Although URIs are caused by either a viral or bacterial pathogens, antibiotics are not effective for viral infections. The current treatment guidelines for URIs do not recommend an initial antibiotic prescription, but encourage delayed antibiotic prescribing techniques in which the practitioner waits 48 to 72 hours before prescribing an antibiotic. However, these guidelines are not consistently followed. To determine the rate of azithromycin prescribing, this study will collect data from three different Federally Qualified Health Centers. These rates will then be compared with the number of articles available in the PubMed database on the topic of antibiotic resistance, to determine whether the current literature available on antibiotic prescribing has an effect in decreasing the misuse of antibiotics. Results from this study will be used to enhance clinical performance. Our data can add to already existing campaigns within pharmacy, as well as promote pharmacists’ responsibilities in patient care involvement and counseling for antibiotics. If there is no correlation found between antibiotic prescribing and education campaigns, this may be grounds for additional research to determine an alternate education methods to promote antibiotic stewardship.
Recommended Citation
Snyder, Charles D.; Winey, Sarah; Lau, Scarlet; Uber, Ryley; Saad, Mouhannad; Widder, Rebecca; and Anderson, Douglas, "Azithromycin Use in Upper Respiratory Infection" (2014). Pharmacy and Nursing Student Research and Evidence-Based Medicine Poster Session. 57.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/pharmacy_nursing_poster_session/57
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
