CDC: Many Flu Patients Still Getting Antibiotics at Outpatient Clinics

"I'd like to make the point, that if you're an outpatient clinician, a large proportion of your patients who are coming in during influenza season have influenza, and they don't benefit from antibiotics," Havers said. "I think that there needs to be still a lot of education work among providers and patients. If [patients] come in, for example, with acute bronchitis, [they] should not be getting azithromycin. There are very few specific indications that require antibiotic prescribing." But more than half of the patients who received prescriptions were being treated for conditions rarely or never indicated for antibiotics, such as cough, bronchitis (acute and NOS), and acute respiratory infection. http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/IDWeek/54070?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2015-10-14&eun=g721819d0r