Abstract
Uncertainty regarding the diagnosis when patients have bacterial or viral infections, especially respiratory infections, often leads to excessive, unnecessary antibiotic use, thereby promoting the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.Clinicians have long known that antibiotics can hasten recovery from illness and save lives but more recent evidence shows that antibiotics can also cause harm by disturbing the natural balance of the human microbiome. Therefore, judicious use of antibiotics has emerged as a desired goal for patients and clinicians.
This presentation will address judicious antibiotic use and discuss how use of a simple white blood cell count and differential laboratory test, easily performed in minutes, can assist in deciding who to treat and who not to treat with antibiotics.
Leaning Objectives:
1. Understand the importance of judicious prescription of antibiotics with regard to microbiome and immunity disturbance
2. Understand how access to white cell count and differential at the point of care can enable judicious antibiotic prescription
See the webinar here.