Patient Perceptions of Antibiotic Use and Resistance at a Single University Dermatology Clinic.

Patient Perceptions of Antibiotic Use and Resistance at a Single University Dermatology Clinic. J Dermatolog Treat. 2018 May 04;:1-8 Authors: Goettsche LS, Weig EA, Chung J, Hoff BM, Ince D, Wanat KA Abstract Antibiotic resistance is an important problem which requires continued patient education and important prescribing stewardship. Dermatologists prescribe the most antibiotics per provider in comparison to other specialties and have an important role to play in the campaign of mindful prescribing. Data on the dermatology patients' knowledge and perception regarding antibiotic resistance is lacking and could play a role in providers' continuation of medications. We conducted a single institution survey of 512 dermatology clinic patients to understand patient's knowledge and potential gaps. Overall, our results demonstrated an overall higher level of knowledge than expected, there were still several knowledge gaps identified. 91% of respondents were aware of the term 'antibiotic resistance'. However, 65% of participants believed that a short course of antibiotics could not cause resistance. While our patients have awareness of antibiotic resistance, it is imperative to continue to assess patients' knowledge about antibiotic resistance and provide education whenever possible in order to continue to practice antibiotic stewardship. PMID: 29726725 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Journal of Dermatological Treatment - Category: Dermatology Tags: J Dermatolog Treat Source Type: research