Fall/Winter 2018 Issue
to Home Page
SPUC's Reading Room
Congratulations to Usha Sankrithi and Jeff Schor, former SPUC board members who co-authored the article Pediatric Urgent Care - New and Evolving Paradigms of Acute Care, featured in the journal Pediatric Clinics in North America.
Click here to read the article.
Be Antibiotics Aware: Protect your patient
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is urging healthcare professionals to prescribe antibiotics only when necessary to help fight antibiotic resistance and the spread of superbugs and to protect their patients from antibiotic adverse events. During U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week and throughout the year, CDC promotes Be Antibiotics Aware, an educational effort to raise awareness about the importance of safe antibiotic prescribing and use.
The Be Antibiotics Aware initiative provides resources to help improve antibiotic prescribing among healthcare professionals and use among consumers.
CDC’s Be Antibiotics Aware educational effort encourages healthcare professionals to:
- Follow clinical guidelines on whether to prescribe antibiotics and when prescribing antibiotics, to prescribe the right antibiotic at the right dose for the right duration at the right time.
- Shortening the duration of antibiotic therapy to the minimum effective duration is a key antibiotic stewardship strategy in all settings of health care. The goal is to maximize the benefit to the patient by curing the infection while at the same time minimizing the risks of antibiotic resistance and side effects from antibiotics.
- Protect your patients. Only prescribe antibiotics when they are needed. You can do harm by prescribing antibiotics that aren’t needed.
- Tell your patients why they don’t need antibiotics for a viral infection, what to do to feel better, and when to seek care again if they don’t feel better.
- Talk to your patients and their families about possible harms from antibiotics, such as allergic reactions, C. difficile, and antibiotic-resistant infections.
- Watch for signs of sepsis, which can be life threatening. If you suspect sepsis, send the patient for emergency care, obtain cultures, and start antibiotics immediately.
- Perform hand hygiene and follow infection prevention measures with every patient.
Be Antibiotics Aware has resources to help healthcare professionals (in outpatient and inpatient settings) educate patients and families about antibiotic use and risks for potential side effects. For more information visit: https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use/?s_cid=NCEZID-AntibioticUse-005.
Other Recent Articles & Podcasts of Interest
BMJ article confirms what we already know: with the exception of nasal saline, cough and cold medicines are not helpful and can be harmful in #pediatric patients. Click on the link to check out an interactive infographic https://bit.ly/2PjiUEL
Research presented at the @AmerAcadPeds NCE last week suggests that bovine colostrum can help reduce the frequency and duration of acute diarrhea. https://bit.ly/2zAufW7
Teens take longer to recover from #concussion (4 weeks) than younger children (2 weeks) and teen girls take the longest of all (longer than 12 weeks) according to new research in @JAMAPediatrics
The New York Times sums it up well: cough and cold medicines don't help, they can be dangerous; honey, fluids, time are the best medicines for #pediatric colds. #urgentcare
Why You Shouldn't Spank, According to the AAP. http://www.aappublications.org/news/2018/11/05/discipline110518 …
JOIN OR RENEW WITH SPUC TODAY!
PLAN NOW!
SPUC Fifth Annual Conference
September 26-29, 2019
Cook Children's Medical Center
Fort Worth, Texas
_____________
Committee Opportunities
Want to make a difference in our developing specialty of Urgent Care Pediatrics?
Join a SPUC Committee or workgroup!