Well, in the context of writing not one but TWO prescriptions for antibiotics in the last 24 hours (long-time readers will recall that I am a fanatic about the overuse of antibiotics and I write for them very rarely)
This time, I had a reason.
Our local version of the pertussis outbreak has become signifiant. With 21 confirmed cases in a high school about 4 miles from our office, I treated a coughing student from that school this morning after consultation with the health department. But last night's customer was a textbook case. The PCR's will be back in a few days. We'll see.
In realted news …
This study in JAMA confirms that a shorter duration of antibiotics may be better in the ICU:
- CONTEXT: The optimal duration of antimicrobial treatment for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is unknown.
- Shortening the length of treatment may help to contain the emergence of multiresistant bacteria in the intensive care unit (ICU).
- RESULTS: Compared with patients treated for 15 days, those treated for 8 days had neither excess mortality (18.8% vs 17.2%; difference, 1.6%; 90% confidence interval [CI], -3.7% to 6
