HEALTHY HABITS
The Superbug Busters t Ìř ìðăÌīÐĊȸĮ ĊĴðĉðÆīďÅð ăĮĴÐœ īÌĮìðĨĴÐ ĉťæìĴĮÅ Æā æ ðĊĮĴ ĊĴðÅðďĴðÆȭīÐĮðĮĴ ĊĴÅ ÆĴÐīð TEAM RADY
There’s no doubt that antibiotics play an important role in health care. The bacteria-killing drugs revolutionized medicine and have saved countless lives since penicillin, ŹĠăƱŬŰŹØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõ̐ ƕØŰûĤŰõŎƔăŬăûŅăØŬĺƛØõăŅŹƀŬƛØęŎ̖ But the rise—and subsequent overuse—of antibiotics has õŎłăƕĤŹĠƀŅĤŅŹăŅûăûõŎŅŰăūƀăŅõăƯ̋ õăŬŹØĤŅòØõŹăŬĤØ ĠØƔăòăõŎłăŬăŰĤŰŹØŅŹŹŎŹĠăĤŬăƫăõŹĤƔăŅăŰŰ̐ ƕĠĤõĠĠØŰ led to a public health crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur each year and roughly 35,000 people die as a result. The CDC also reports that around 30 percent of the antibiotics prescribed in outpatient settings are unnecessary. Øûƛ!ĠĤĺûŬăŅ̵ ŰĤŰƱęĠŹĤŅęòØõķØęØĤŅŰŹØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõ resistance. The Hospital began monitoring its antibiotic use as early as 2007, and since 2014, has maintained ØŅØŅŹĤłĤõŬŎòĤØĺŰŹăƕØŬûŰĠĤŨŨŬŎęŬØł̐ ƕĠĤõĠØĤłŰ to oversee providers’ use of antibiotics and to look for ăłăŬęĤŅęŬăŰĤŰŹØŅõăŨØŹŹăŬŅŰòƛõŎĺĺăõŹĤŅęûØŹØŎŅƕĠĤõĠ ŹƛŨăŰŎėØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõŰØŬăƀŰăûØŅûƕĠăŅ̖ Ed Milder, MD, pediatric infectious disease specialist ØŅûłăûĤõØĺûĤŬăõŹŎŬėŎŬŹĠăØŅŹĤłĤõŬŎòĤØĺŰŹăƕØŬûŰĠĤŨ program at Rady Children’s, says the goal is not to discourage the use of antibiotics, but to ensure providers use the right antibiotic at the right time. The pace of the ûăƔăĺŎŨłăŅŹŎėŅăƕØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõŰĠØŰėØĺĺăŅòăĠĤŅûŹĠăŨØõă ŎėŬăŰĤŰŹØŅõă̐ ŰŎŨŬŎƔĤûăŬŰŅăăûŹŎòăłŎŬăõØƀŹĤŎƀŰƕĤŹĠ ŹĠăƀŰăŎėØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõŰŹĠØŅŹĠăƛƕăŬă˙˗ŎŬ˚˗ƛăØŬŰØęŎ̐ ƕĠăŅŨŬăŰõŬĤòĤŅęØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõŰĺĤòăŬØĺĺƛƕØŰŹĠăŅŎŬł̖ ̱ Ãă̵ ŬăĤŅØòĤŹŎėØŅØŬłŰŬØõăƕĤŹĠŹĠăłĤõŬŎòăŰ̲̐ says Dr. Milder. ̱
ŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõŰŹăƕØŬûŰĠĤŨĠØŰòăăŅØęŬŎƕĤŅęăƫŎŬŹØõŬŎŰŰ ŹĠăõŎƀŅŹŬƛØŅûØŬŎƀŅûŹĠăƕŎŬĺû̐ ØŅûŹĠăĤŅõŬăØŰăû attention, a lot of it is driven by resistance. Although the same thing happens in viruses and fungus, bacterial ŬăŰĤŰŹØŅõăĤŰŹĠăłŎŰŹŨŬŎłĤŅăŅŹ̲̐ ĠăõŎŅŹĤŅƀăŰ̖ “Providers and prescribers are trying to be cautious ƕĤŹĠŹĠăĤŬØŅŹĤòĤŎŹĤõƀŰăØŅûØƕØŬăŅăŰŰõØłŨØĤęŅŰØŬă advising the public to expect antibiotics in the right Ű㏏ĤŅęŲ̋ ØŅûRŹĠĤŅķŹĠØŹĠØŰŰŹØŬŹăûŹŎĠØƔăØŅĤłŨØõŹ̖̲ Preventing antibiotic overuse can also limit the side ăƫăõŹŰŹĠØŹŰŎłăŹĤłăŰõŎłăƕĤŹĠŹĠăł̐ ĤŅõĺƀûĤŅęŹĠă possible impact to a child’s still-developing microbiome— the billions of microbes living in our bodies that are ŹĠŎƀęĠŹŹŎĤŅƲƀăŅõăăƔăŬƛŹĠĤŅęėŬŎłłŎŎûŹŎĤłłƀŅă ŰƛŰŹăłėƀŅõŹĤŎŅ̨ ØŰƕăĺĺØŰĠØłŨăŬŹĠăŰŨŬăØûŎė antibiotic-resistant superbugs via transmission to others. §ĠăØŅŹĤłĤõŬŎòĤØĺŰŹăƕØŬûŰĠĤŨŹăØłĠØŰØĺŰŎĺØƀŅõĠăû ØłƀĺŹĤûĤŰõĤŨĺĤŅØŬƛ̱ ĠØŅûŰĠØķăŰŹăƕØŬûŰĠĤŨ̲ ŨŬŎęŬØł that involves talking to providers face-to-face about their use of antibiotics and their concerns for their patients. §ĠĤŰłăŹĠŎûŎŨăŅŰƀŨØûĤØĺŎęƀăƕĠăŬăòŎŹĠŰĤûăŰõØŅ learn from each other and provide input. ̱ ĤęĠŹŅŎƕ̐ ƕă̵ ŬăƕŎŬķĤŅęĤŅŎƀŬŨăûĤØŹŬĤõR!®ƕĤŹĠŰŎłă of our sickest patients, and the physicians and nurse ŨŬØõŹĤŹĤŎŅăŬŰĠØƔăòăăŅƔăŬƛŬăŰŨŎŅŰĤƔă̲̐ ŰØƛŰØĤęă Anderson, PharmD, codirector of the antimicrobial ŰŹăƕØŬûŰĠĤŨŨŬŎęŬØłØŹØûƛ!ĠĤĺûŬăŅ̵ ŰØŅûĤŹŰ pharmacist. “We’re there to discuss appropriateness and ƕĠØŹŎƀŬęƀĤûăĺĤŅăŰŰƀęęăŰŹ̨ ĤŹõØŅòăŰŎłăŹĠĤŅęØŰ simple as reminding them that this doesn’t have to be an ĤŅûăƱŅĤŹăõŎƀŬŰă̖̲
THE FACTS ABOUT ANTIBIOTICS
Antibiotics are a class of
Now, there are many different types, and they can come in the form of pills, liquid, cream, lotion, drops,
It can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days for symptoms to begin to improve
Antibiotics don’t work on viruses, including those that cause ³¨ÃƜ®ðË®çvƜ bronchitis and COVID-19, or on certain bacterial infections, such as some ear and sinus infections
Even if your child has an
medication used to treat bacterial infections SïÀÃÈ®vÈËÀv¨ antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered in 1928
infection, his or her pediatrician
may decide antibiotics are not the
sprays and injections
best course of action—keep an open mind
8 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE WINTER 2024
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