On behalf of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program:
The Saskatchewan Health Authority Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, in collaboration with Dr. Rupesh Chawla (pediatric infectious diseases & antimicrobial stewardship physician, Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital), is pleased to present a pediatric respiratory tract infection (RTI) education bundle for primary care providers. This bundle contains several resources to support clinicians with appropriate antibiotic prescribing for pediatric RTIs and tools to help patients better understand appropriate antibiotic use.
We have created a three-part video series which reviews the appropriate management of common pediatric RTIs (pharyngitis, otitis media, sinusitis, and pneumonia). The videos can be viewed on the Stewardship and Clinical Appropriateness YouTube channel.
An additional live webinar will be during the upcoming World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (Nov 18-24). The webinar will be presented by Dr. Chawla and Kristin Schmidt, one of the antimicrobial stewardship and infectious diseases pharmacists, on Tuesday, November 21, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm. You can register by sending an RSVP to antimicrobial.stewardship@saskhealthauthority.ca and have your chance to ask the experts your questions.
Supplementary to the video series and live webinar, the education bundle also includes a handout outlining amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanate dosing for common pediatric RTIs. The handout can be found on the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program website.
If you haven’t already done so, the SHA provides access to a free app that you can download on your device (Apple or Android). The app is called Firstline, and it contains valuable information for prescribers, including treatment guidelines for common infections and local antibiogram information for sites across Saskatchewan. For pediatrics, there is the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital (Mom & Kids Health Saskatchewan).
Finally, to help promote awareness about appropriate antibiotic use among patients, a new poster has been developed that may be displayed in waiting rooms or exam rooms. This is a great tool to prompt conversations with patients about appropriate antibiotic use for them or their children.
Thank you to all primary healthcare providers who do their part every day to promote antimicrobial stewardship in our province. We hope that you will find this education bundle helpful in continuing to work towards our goals of reducing the growing rates of antimicrobial resistance in Saskatchewan and worldwide.