For Outpatient Healthcare Providers

Treatment Guidelines for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections

• Treatment Guidelines for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
  One page academic detailing sheets and Publications - Principles for Adult and Pediatric Appropriate Antibiotic Use

Materials to Use with Your Patients

• Download print materials
  Brochures, one-page sheets, and posters may be copied and distributed without alteration free of charge.
• Order materials
  • Small quantities are available through CDC-INFO
  • Quantities in bulk are available from the Public Health Foundation. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.

Continuing Education (CE) Opportunities

• Nebraska: Get Smart About Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance
  This educational intervention is designed to bring awareness and understanding of the global problem of antibiotic resistance, as well as the consequences of inappropriate antibiotic use. At the conclusion of this activity, the participant should be able to:
  • Recognize the clinical significance of antibiotic resistance and the prevalence of several antibiotic resistant organisms
  • Make better informed decisions regarding antibiotic use for several common outpatient illnesses including bronchitis, sinusitis, and otitis
  • Relate several ways to make better use of antibiotics in the acute care setting
• Promoting Appropriate Management of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
  Promoting Appropriate Antibiotic Management of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections: Antibiotics Resistance, Treatment Guidelines and Patient Satisfaction is a free web-cast specifically designed for primary care practitioners, including physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners. The presentation includes information about:
  • Antibiotic resistance;
  • Treatment guidelines for upper respiratory infections (URIs);
  • Strategies to improve patient satisfaction when antibiotics are requested but not necessary for the treatment of the illness; and
  • How to establish effective practice protocols that improve patient outcomes by setting reasonable expectations for URI treatment and management.
• Free online training program (CME) - Otitis Media
  ePROM: Enhancing Proficiency in Otitis Media is a series of six interactive, image-rich online courses to improve knowledge in understanding middle ear disease and skill in visually diagnosing middle ear effusions. The courses were developed at the Hospital of Pittsburgh/University of Pittsburgh with support from CDC. Self assessments of visual diagnostic skills are also available at this site. Site registration and CME are free. Topics include:
  • Pneumatic otoscopy: equipment and techniques
  • Otitis media with effusion (OME)
  • Acute otitis media (AOM)
  • Tympanometry and acoustic reflectometry
  • Background and epidemiology
  • Tympanocentesis
• Antimicrobial Drug Use and Resistance in Europe
  The course is offered through the Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal with CE credits provided by Medscape, LLC.
  Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:
  • Identify the classes of antimicrobial drugs most commonly used in Europe.
  • Describe patterns of antimicrobial drug use across regions in Europe.
  • Identify the most widely used antimicrobial drugs by country in Europe.
  • List European countries that show the highest antimicrobial drug resistance proportions.
  • Describe the association between antimicrobial drug use and the emergence of resistance.
• Acute respiratory tract infections: When are antibiotics indicated?
  The article is available from the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. In this second article of a series on antibiotic resistance, the authors discuss common respiratory infectious processes. The Get Smart campaign is described.
• The articles, Acute Respiratory Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance and Is Your Patient Taking the Right Antimicrobial?, are available from the American Journal of Nursing.
  • Antimicrobial resistance: many nurses are aware of the risk but may not know that inappropriate management of acute respiratory infection contributes to it significantly. For example, more than half of antibiotics prescribed for respiratory infections are unwarranted because viruses are the cause. It is important that nurses understand antimicrobial resistance and learn how to help patients, family members, and friends manage acute respiratory infections appropriately.
  • The author describes the all-too-common phenomenon of inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing and the role it played in her sister's illness and death. The author details the ways in which bacteria become resistant to antimicrobials, discusses the prevalence and costs of health care-associated infections resulting from antimicrobial resistance, and provides practical tips on using culture-and-sensitivity reports to ensure that patients are receiving the appropriate antimicrobial treatments.

Related Programs

• Related CDC programs preventing antimicrobial resistance
• Appropriate antibiotic use programs around the country