Managing respiratory tract infections

摘要

Last year, as a previously completely fit and healthy GP of 32, I developed a sore throat, cough, and fever. Nothing so unusual about that and being fully aware of the NICE guidelines on prescribing in respiratory tract infections it did not cross my mind to see a doctor or self-medicate with antibiotics.2 My Centor score of two would have suggested I would be unlikely to benefit. For me, as I suspect for many GPs of my generation, being a relatively low prescriber of antibiotics was a badge of honour and I knew the chance of serious complications was low.