Background RTIs are the commonest acute problem dealt with in primary care. Most people with RTIs are inappropriately prescribed antibiotics.
{"Image DocumentName": "BackgroundRTIs are the commonest acute problem dealt with in primary care. Most people with RTIs are inappropriately prescribed antibiotics.", "Image ImageDescription": "The guideline covers best practice advice on the care of adults and children (3 months and older) with RTIs, for whom immediate antibiotic prescribing is not indicated. NOTES FOR PRESENTERS: Key points to raise: This guideline is relevant to primary care and community settings where face-to-face contact takes place between patients and healthcare professionals. These settings include general practices, community pharmacies, NHS walk-in centres, NHS out-of-hours services and primary medical and nursing care provided in emergency departments. The target population is adults and children (3 months and older) for whom immediate antibiotic prescribing is not indicated. Additional information: Most people will develop an acute respiratory tract infection (RTI) every year. Most people presenting in primary care with an acute uncomplicated RTI will receive an antibiotic prescription and there are several problems with this. First, the evidence suggests that most patients will not gain much symptomatic benefit from antibiotics. This means that many patients are having unnecessary antibiotics and are needlessly being exposed to side effects. Second, patients are getting the message from healthcare professionals that antibiotics are helpful for most infections, and thus erroneously attribute their symptom resolution to antibiotics. Third, international comparisons make it clear that antibiotic resistance rates are strongly related to antibiotic use in primary care. This is potentially a major public health problem both for our own and for future generations.", "Image XResolution": "37", "Image YResolution": "37", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Centimeter", "Image Software": "SlidePlayer", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered"}