This course will offer a practical approach to prescribing antibiotic therapy and development of antimicrobial stewardship across all specialties and settings.

Antibiotics are among the most frequently prescribed classes of drugs and it is estimated that approximately 50% of antibiotic use, in both the outpatient and inpatient settings, is inappropriate.  At the same time, in contrast to any other class of drugs, every antibiotic use has a potential public health consequence – inappropriate use may not harm only the individual patient, but contributes to societal harm by exerting an unnecessary selective pressure that may lead to antibiotic resistance among bacteria.  This course will offer a number of illustrative cases, recognizable to the practicing physician in his or her practice to engage the learners in the thought processes that lead to optimal decision making, improved outcomes of individual patients, and harm reduction vis-a-vis the bacterial ecology.

Learning Objectives

• Develop skills to apply IDSA guidelines in treating infections such as acute rhino-sinusitis, and acute bronchitis.
  
• Apply evidence based antibiotic management to treat sepsis.
  
• Implement principles of antimicrobial stewardship in your practice. 

The Stanford University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.