Wu et al reported when antibiotic therapy is appropriate for infections encountered in primary care. A modified Delphi approach was used to assign a tier value to each type of infection encountered. The authors are from the University of Toronto and affiliated hospitals in Canada.
Patient selection: infection encountered in primary care
Tier
Antibiotics Indicated
1
always
2a
frequent (51 to 99%)
2b
sometimes indicated (21 to 50%)
2c
rarely indicated (< 20%)
3
never
Infection
Age in Years
Tier
acute bronchitis
2c
acute sinusitis
2c
asthma
3
chronic sinusitis
2c
common cold
3
COPD exacerbation
2b
dental condition
2c
epididymo-orchitis
2a
eye infection
2c
gastroenteritis
2c
influenza
3
non-purulent SSTI
1
other bacterial infection
1
other non-bacterial infection
3
otitis externa
<= 18 years
3
otitis externa
> 18 years
2c
otitis media
2b
pharyngitis
< 2 years
2c
pharyngitis
>= 2 years
2b
pneumonia
1
prostatitis
2a
purulent SSTI
2b
pyelonephritis
1
reproductive tract infection
1
UTI
<= 18 years
1
UTI
> 18 years
2a
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