Information for 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

• Print Materials
  Brochures, one-page sheets, posters

Order Materials

• Materials can be ordered in small quantities through CDC INFO
• Materials can be ordered in bulk from the Public Health Foundation. Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery.
• All print materials found on the Get Smart website may be downloaded, copied, and distributed without alteration free of charge.

Continuing Education (CE) Opportunities

• 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
• Improving Appropriate Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infections
  The course is a free, interactive case-based on-line learning experience that will enhance your ability to:
  • Describe four consequences of the overuse of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections
  • Apply the principles of appropriate antibiotic use for treatment of acute bronchitis, acute sinusitis, pharyngitis and acute otitis media
  • Develop practical strategies to adopt appropriate antibiotic use within your practice.
• 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