RT Book, Section
A1 Fung, Monica
A1 Chin-Hong, Peter V.
A2 Lalwani, Anil K.
SR Print(0)
ID 1169072279
T1 Antimicrobial Therapy for Head and Neck Infection
T2 Current Diagnosis & Treatment Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, 4e
YR 2020
FD 2020
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071847643
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1169072279
RD 2024/04/20
AB A  summary  of  empiric  antimicrobial  therapy  for  common  conditions  encountered  in  otolaryngology  can  be  found  in  Table  2–1.  In  general,  when  culture  and  susceptibility  data  are  finalized,  it  is  important  to  use  the  narrowest  agent  possible.  This  may  not  only  be  cost  effective  in  many  cases  but  will  also  decrease  selection  pressure  for  the  development  of  antimicrobial  resistance.  Note  that  a  history  of  an  allergy  to  penicillin  in  the  past  is  not  reliable.  Only  a  small  proportion  of  patients  (<  5%)  with  a  stated  history  of  penicillin  allergy  actually  experience  an  adverse  reaction  when  challenged  with  the  drug.  If  there  are  concerns,  penicillin  skin  testing  may  be  a  helpful  procedure  to  truly  identify  patients  at  risk  of  a  true  IgE-mediated  reaction.  All  others  can  be  safely  prescribed  β-lactams  leading  to  a  wider  choice  of  agents  and  enhance  our  ability  to  use  targeted  therapy  when  possible.