Overprescribing Antibiotics Is a Concern Well Beyond ENT-Type Complaints

Urgent care and emergency room physicians have been taken to task for writing too many prescriptions for patients who present with sore throat, earache, and other typical upper respiratory complaints. A new study out of Case Western Reserve University and published in the Journal of the American Dental Association points out that they need to be more vigilant when it comes to prescribing for patients who present with dental pain and swelling, however. One of the challenges, likely, is that physicians and advanced practice practitioners may not be as experienced or confident in assessing and understanding the nature of oral health complaints. Per the American Dental Association’s clinical practice guidelines on the subject, antibiotics should be prescribed only or patients suffering with systemic issues, indicated by fever and swelling or when an infection is obviously present and worsening. Further, according to the JADA article, patients presenting to urgent care and the ED should be strongly advised to seek dental care (rather than just trying to ease the pain they’re experiencing). For prescribers, the key thing to remember is that the risk for fostering antibiotic resistance is just as great for oral care as it is for any other body system.