Research and analysis

HPR volume 11 issue 29: news (18 August)

Updated 15 December 2017

Guidance on Management and Treatment of Common Infections updated

PHE has published draft updated guidance on Management and Treatment of Common Infections designed to be used by primary healthcare practitioners and those giving first-point-of-contact advice on treatment of patients with common infections [1].

The guidance aims to optimise the management of common infections while reducing the risk of emergence of antimicrobial resistance in the community. It comprises: (a) a six-page summary table of common illnesses – and their corresponding treatments – components parts of which can be adapted for different purposes in primary care settings (eg printed out for use as posters; or used for quick reference purposes); and (b) an extensive reference list (with associated rationales) designed to help trainers, trainees and microbiologists who require links to robust evidence for the statements made in the summary table.

2017 update

In August 2017, a full update of the guidance was conducted, covering all the previously included common infections. The Urinary Tract Infections section, for example, has been amended to reflect the current increase in antimicrobial resistance, now advising nitrofurantoin as first-line treatment for uncomplicated UTIs. Newly added common infections are: scarlet fever; genital herpes; acne; erysipelas; mastitis; and blepharitis.

All recommendations in the guidance are in line with the most recent draft publications from NICE and other national guidance; including, for example, under “Sinusitis (acute)” that phenoxymethylpenicillin should be used as first-line treatment, instead of an alternative to amoxicillin.

A two-week consultation period on the draft updated guidance ends on 21 August [1]. The final version of the updated guidance will be published on the main guidance page in the coming weeks [2].

References

1. PHE website [open consultation]. Management and treatment of common infections: antibiotic guidance for primary care: consultation seeking views on the draft updated guidance (closes at 11:45pm, 21 August 2017).
2. PHE website [main guidance page]. Managing Common Infections: Guidance for Primary Care.

Infection reports in this issue of HPR

The following two infection reports are published in this issue of HPR. The links below are to the relevant webpage collections.

• Laboratory surveillance of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: 2016
• Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) biannual update (August 2017)