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Treating Acute Bronchitis In Primary Care, Haylie Patterson, Stacy Wieland

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

There has been a significant rise in inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in the United States with at least 30 percent of antibiotics prescribed deemed unnecessary (Fiore, Fettic, Wright, & Ferrara, 2017). Overprescribing antibiotics for viral illnesses such as acute bronchitis leads to antimicrobial resistance. Based on current treatment guidelines, most upper respiratory infections do not respond to antibiotics but rather require supportive measures. Antibiotic prescribing trends for a Midwestern rural clinic were obtained through a retrospective and prospective chart review. Patients were frequently receiving antibiotics for acute bronchitis. To approach the problem a quality improvement (QI) evidence-based project was proposed. A …