Antibiotic Resistance Complications & Prevention in Corbin, KY

Avoiding Antibiotic Resistance

Wajdi Kfoury, MD, Infectious Diseases
Baptist Health Corbin

Wajdi Kfoury, MD:         
Antibiotic resistance is when the bacterium becomes resistant to the antibiotic therapy through different mechanisms and [does] not respond to the antibiotic therapy that is supposed to kill it or inhibit its growth. Sometimes patients feel more comfortable getting an antibiotic prescription from their provider. They need to know and keep in mind that antibiotics could cause several complications, including C. diff colitis, which could be pretty serious and hard to treat, and could lead to further resistance, which would make their care more complicated down the road.

One of the main consequences of antibiotic resistance is [that it leads] to more resistant organisms that are harder to treat, with the need [for] several antibiotic therapies and broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy. Sometimes infections are untreatable with antimicrobial coverage. The best way to prevent further antibiotic resistance is to treat the right infection with the right antibiotic for as short a duration as possible. At Baptist Health Corbin, we opened an outpatient infectious disease practice to help primary care physicians treat their patients who have complicated infections or resistant bacteria and to ensure their patients are receiving proper antibiotic therapy for the proper duration.