Suboptimal Knowledge of Antibiotic Prophylaxis Guidelines

For patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures, current guidelines no longer recommend antibiotic use solely to prevent bacterial endocarditis. Appropriate antibiotic prescribing is important both for ensuring patient safety and for preventing unnecessary use of these medications. But are physicians aware of the current recommendations?

To find out, researchers surveyed gastroenterologists as well as other specialists and primary care doctors (who can refer patients for gastrointestinal procedures without gastroenterology consultation and, in such cases, are responsible for discussing pre-endoscopy issues), at three major academic medical centers. Participants were asked to answer 10 survey questions based on their current kn…