Prescriber and Patient Responsibilities in Treatment of Acute Respiratory Tract Infections — Essential for Conservation of Antibiotics

Antibiotics

Alike van der Velden⁵  Martin G. Duerden⁸  John Bell¹  John S. Oxford²  Attila Altiner⁶  Roman Kozlov³  Aurelio Sessa⁴  Antonio C. Pignatari⁷ 

[1] Pharmacy School, University of Technology Sydney, Broadway 2007, Australia; E-Mail:;Centre for Infectious Diseases, Bart’s and the London Queen Mary’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, Retroscreen Virology Ltd., 327 Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK; E-Mail:;Institute of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Smolensk State Medical Academy, 28 Krupskaya Str, Smolensk 214019, Russia; E-Mail:;Italian College of General Practitioners, Florence 50142, Italy; E-Mail:;Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 100, 3584 CX, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Institute of General Practice, Rostock University Medical Centre, Rostock 18051, Germany; E-Mail:;Escola Paulista de Medicina-Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Leandro Dupret 188, Sao Paulo, SP 04025-010, Brazil; E-Mail:;Office of Medical Director BCUHB, PO Box 18, Croesnewydd Road, Wrexham LL13 7TD, UK; E-Mail:

关键词: antibiotics;    communication;    primary care;    resistance;    symptomatic management;    respiratory tract infection;   

DOI  :  10.3390/antibiotics2020316

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Inappropriate antibiotic use in normally self-limiting acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs), such as sore throat and the common cold, is a global problem and an important factor for increasing levels of antibiotic resistance. A new group of international experts—the Global Respiratory Infection Partnership (GRIP)—is committed to addressing this issue, with the interface between primary care practitioners and their patients as their core focus. To combat the overuse of antibiotics in the community, and facilitate a change from prescribing empiric antibiotic treatment towards cautious deferment combined with symptomatic relief, there is a need to introduce and enhance evidence-based dialogue between primary care practitioners and their patients. Communication with patients should focus on the de-medicalisation of self-limiting viral infections, which can be achieved via a coherent globally endorsed framework outlining the rationale for appropriate antibiotic use in acute RTIs in the context of antibiotic stewardship and conservancy. The planned framework is intended to be adaptable at a country level to reflect local behaviours, cultures and healthcare systems, and has the potential to serve as a model for change in other therapeutic areas.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.