Principles of Judicious Antibiotic Use: Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
Authors: James R. Johnson
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2002)

Letters7 May 2002Principles of Judicious Antibiotic Use: Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract InfectionsJames R. Johnson, MDJames R. Johnson, MDVeterans Affairs Medical CenterMinneapolis, MN 55417Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-136-9-200205070-00018 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:In their position papers regarding acute upper respiratory tract infections, Gonzales and colleagues (1) and Snow and coworkers (2) state that physicians commonly interpret purulent sputum and purulent nasal secretions as evidence of bacterial infection and therefore as an indication for antibiotic therapy. The authors juxtapose this observation with the statement that purulent secretions do not actually predict a bacterial cause or a response to antibiotic therapy (1, 2). It is unfortunate, in view of the importance of persuading physicians to modify their entrenched erroneous ideas, that this assertion, which was repeated three times in each paper, ...References1. Gonzales R, Bartlett JG, Besser RE, Hickner JM, Hoffman JR, Sande MA, et al . Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for treatment of nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections in adults: background. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:490-4. [PMID: 11255526] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Snow V, Mottur-Pilson C, Gonzales R. Principles of appropriate antibiotic use for treatment of nonspecific upper respiratory tract infections in adults. Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:487-9. [PMID: 11255525] LinkGoogle Scholar3. Stott NC, West RR. Randomised controlled trial of antibiotics in patients with cough and purulent sputum. Br Med J. 1976;2:556-9. [PMID: 0000786428] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Verheij TJ, Hermans J, Mulder JD. Effects of doxycycline in patients with acute cough and purulent sputum: a double blind placebo controlled trial. Br J Gen Pract. 1994;44:400-4. [PMID: 0008790652] MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: James R. Johnson, MDAffiliations: Veterans Affairs Medical CenterMinneapolis, MN 55417 PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPrinciples of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Treatment of Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults Vincenza Snow , Christel Mottur-Pilson , and Ralph Gonzales , for the American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine*Principles of Appropriate Antibiotic Use for Treatment of Nonspecific Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults: Background Ralph Gonzales , John G. Bartlett , Richard E. Besser , John M. Hickner , Jerome R. Hoffman , and Merle A. Sande Principles of Judicious Antibiotic Use: Acute Rhinosinusitis James R. Johnson Metrics 7 May 2002Volume 136, Issue 9Page: 709KeywordsAntibioticsSputumUpper respiratory tract infections ePublished: 7 May 2002 Issue Published: 7 May 2002 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2002 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...