Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
-
To gather information about antibiotic side effects to be used as a reference and learning resource for prescribing physicians. ⋯ It is difficult to identify and ascribe exact probabilities of most harms. However, all common antimicrobials create harms that must be considered when choosing whether to prescribe. Many adverse effects go unrecognized by prescribers. As side effects are inevitable, antimicrobials must be prescribed for as short a course as possible, only when the probability of benefit is greater than the risk of harm.
-
Question I understand that antibiotic use in children younger than 2 years of age has been associated with the development of asthma. With so many children in early life suffering from middle ear and throat infections, are those children who are treated with antibiotics at higher risk of developing asthma or exacerbating their asthma? Is there a relationship between number of antibiotic courses and risk of asthma?Answer Administration of antibiotics in the first 2 years of life has been shown to be associated with asthma later in life in retrospective and prospective studies. However, study limitations such as protopathic bias, poor data collection methods, and small cohort size prevent clear determination of causality between antibiotics and asthma. The use of antibiotics in young children warrants careful consideration due to antibiotic resistance, adverse effects, and potential association with asthma.
-
Many courses are offered to health care professionals to improve educational scholarship and scholarly teaching. The literature on the effect of such courses on promoting educational scholarship and scholarly teaching is currently suboptimal. ⋯ Experiential learning facilitated by curricular design and assignments coupled with mentorship stimulated scholarly publications. Educational courses should design curricula to promote scholarship in learners and evaluate their effect.