Guideline for Antibiotic Use in Adults with Community-acquired Pneumonia

Lee, Mi Suk; Oh, Jee Youn; Kang, Cheol-In; Kim, Eu Suk; Park, Sunghoon; Rhee, Chin Kook; Jung, Ji Ye; Jo, Kyung-Wook; Heo, Eun Young; Park, Dong-Ah; Suh, Gee Young; Kiem, Sungmin

Antibiotic resistance has recently been raised as a serious public health issue worldwide. This is because whereas resistant bacteria that cannot be removed with existing antibiotics are increasing in number, less and less novel antibiotics are being developed. The issue of antibiotic resistance is much more serious in Korea than in other countries, with major causative bacteria having the highest antibiotic resistance in the former worldwide. Antibiotic resistance is proportional to the level of antibiotic misuse. The level of antibiotic use in Korea is higher than the average level of antibiotic use worldwide. The rate of prescribing antibiotics for infections that do not require antibiotic treatment is also higher in Korea than in other countries.