Treating Community-acquired Bacterial Respiratory Tract Infections: Update on Etiology, Diagnosis, and Antimicrobial Therapy

Conclusions

Appropriate prescribing of antibiotics can effectively slow the development of bacterial resistance. Before selecting an antibiotic for a patient with a community-acquired RTI, primary care clinicians should first evaluate whether such treatment is even necessary. Treatment of ABS, ABECB, or CAP is compromised by increasing pathogen resistance to the currently used antibiotics. Use of high-dose amoxicillin and the other “older” antibiotics may delay the emergence of resistance to “newer” drugs, making newer drugs useful for treatment of more difficult cases. New agents to the antibiotic armamentarium give primary care physicians additional therapeutic options for patients who present with bacterial RTIs.

Financial disclosure:

Stephen Brunton, MD, is a consultant for and a member of the speakers’ bureaus for Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc and Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Inc.