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Antibiotic resistance has been called one of the world's most pressing public health problems. |
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Resistance to antibiotics is on the rise and overuse of antibiotics is jeopardizing the
usefulness of essential drugs. Decreasing inappropriate antibiotic use is the best way
to control resistance. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a
national campaign, "Get Smart, Know when antibiotics work" to reduce antimicrobial resistance
through promotion of more appropriate antibiotic use in 2003.
The campaign is being supported by many public health groups, including the
American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of
Family Physicians and the Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics and Council for
Affordable Quality Healthcare.
According to the Medical Director for CDC's National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use:
Richard Besser, M.D (www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/community)
"The biggest problem is inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics. Tens of millions of
antibiotics prescribed in doctor's offices are for viral infections, which are not treatable
with antibiotics. There are many reasons for this, including demand from patients, time
pressure on physicians, and diagnostic uncertainty. The patient wants to get back to work or
get the child back to school, and the doctor wants the patient to feel satisfied with treatment.
The result is over-prescribing of antibiotics, resulting in the development of resistant bacteria.
The best way to combat this practice is to educate the physicians and the public to decrease both
demand and over prescribing. In addition, providing clinicians with better means of diagnosing
respiratory tract infections may remove some of the uncertainty that promotes over prescribing."
Recommendations for appropriate antibiotic use for health care providers:
- Only prescribe antibiotic therapy when likely to be beneficial to the patient
- Use an agent targeting the likely pathogens
- Use the antibiotic for the appropriate dose and duration
The QuikRead C-Reactive Protein Test (CRP) and Program
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive marker of inflammation. As such it has for a
long time been used to distinguish bacterial infections from viral infections, assess the
severity of tissue damage and monitor antibiotic treatment.
QuikRead CRP is a quantitative assay of CRP (C-reactive protein) in whole blood or plasma,
using the easy-to-use QuikReadŽ 101 Instrument. Measurement of CRP helps to evaluate the
acute inflammatory processes induced by infectious microbial agents or non-infectious
inflammatory stimuli.
Patient education materials for common areas and examination rooms are included with
QuikRead as part of a comprehensive antibiotics use reduction program.
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