Antibiotic therapy entails prescription of antibiotics as the treatment for an infection following a specific diagnosis. In this paper, I will discuss the standard of care, professional guidelines and recommendations for antibiotic therapy when treating throat and ear pain in adults and children.
Ear pain
Treatment of ear using antibiotics is only initiated when acute otitis media (AOM) is identified from diagnosis. For a definitive diagnosis, three elements need to be met. First, there must be an abrupt onset of symptoms indicating middle ear inflammation. Second, is the presence of effusion in the middle ear characterized by tympanic membrane bulging. Lastly, is the indication of erythema or otalgia which are manifested in inflammation of middle ear (Lieberthal et al. 2013). In management, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends Amoxicillin as the primary choice for treating ear infection. The dosage varies depending on the level of infection among children and adults. For instance, in moderate ear infection among children, the dose is 25mg per kg body weight divided into two doses per day while in an adult it is 250 mg for every 8 hours or 0.5g per every 12 hours. In severe cases, adults 500mg every 8 hours while in children is 45mg/kg body weight divided into two daily doses. Other antibiotics used include trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime, cefpodoxime among others. There are used when no improvement is observed with the first choice as well as due to allergy cases. It should be noted that use of prophylactic antibiotics to decrease the episodes and frequency of AOM is not recommended (Hersh et al. 2013).
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Throat pain
Throat pain can result from both viruses or bacteria. In healthcare, antibiotics treatment is only applicable when strep throat (caused by bacteria) is diagnosed using a lab test. Strep throat is characterized by tonsils and pharynx inflammation. Other signs include fever and chills, headache, high temperature, sore throat among others (Avery, 2015). In this case, antibiotics are prescribed to prevent rheumatic fever. The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) recommends that a confirmatory throat culture test is conducted prior to prescription. However, antibiotic therapy can be initiated immediately without the test when the results delays for more than three days or patient is very ill. The selection of antibiotics is dependent on clinical efficacy, patient’s allergies, therapy duration, cost and compliance, potential side effects and frequency of administration. Antibiotics used include; penicillin, Benzathine penicillin, Amoxicillin, Azithromycin, Clindamycin, cephalosporin among others (Barnett & Linder 2014). The dosage is different with each antibiotic and among children and adults.
References
Avery, C. (2015). What criteria should we use to diagnose strep throat?
Barnett, M. L., & Linder, J. A. (2014). Antibiotic prescribing to adults with sore throat in the United States, 1997-2010. JAMA internal medicine , 174 (1), 138-140.
Hersh, A. L., Jackson, M. A., Hicks, L. A., & Committee on Infectious Diseases. (2013). Principles of judicious antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections in pediatrics. Pediatrics , 132 (6), 1146-1154.
Lieberthal, A. S., Carroll, A. E., Chonmaitree, T., Ganiats, T. G., Hoberman, A., Jackson, M. A., ... & Schwartz, R. H. (2013). The diagnosis and management of acute otitis media. Pediatrics , 131 (3), e964-e999.
