Most respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses. Bacterial respiratory tract infections are usually treated empirically with antibiotic therapy that targets the most probable causative pathogens. Recommended antibiotic regimens for outpatient treatment of some common respiratory tract infections are listed in Table 1 for adults and Table 2 for children.

Since 2007, antimicrobial prophylaxis for dental procedures has been recommended to prevent viridans group streptococcal infective endocarditis only for patients at highest risk of an adverse outcome. Limiting use to such patients does not appear to have led to an increased incidence of infective endocarditis or increased mortality due to infective endocarditis.

This article includes recommendations for management of most sexually transmitted infections (STIs) other than HIV and viral hepatitis. Some of the indications and dosages recommended here have not been approved by the FDA (see Table 1).

More antibiotics are prescribed for treatment of acute otitis media (AOM) than for any other infection in young children. Children with AOM typically present with otalgia, fever, and bulging and erythema of the tympanic membrane.

Lyme disease in the US is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to humans by Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged [deer] tick) and I. pacificus (western blacklegged tick). Most cases of Lyme disease occur in late spring and early summer in northeastern and mid-Atlantic states, the upper Midwest, and in northern California. B. mayonii, which is also transmitted by I. scapularis, has been shown to cause a similar illness in the upper Midwest.

Treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is usually empiric, with selected antibiotic regimens directed against some of the most common causative pathogens. Recommended empiric regimens are listed in Table 2; recommended antibiotic dosages for treatment of CAP are listed in Tables 3 and 4. Joint guidelines for treatment of CAP by the American Thoracic Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (ATS/IDSA) were updated in 2019.

The FDA has approved Xacduro (Innoviva), a combination of the beta-lactam antibacterial sulbactam and the beta-lactamase inhibitor durlobactam, for IV treatment of adults with hospital-acquired or ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia caused by susceptible isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (ABC).

Emrosi (Journey), an oral, low-dose, biphasic-release formulation of the tetracycline antibiotic minocycline, has been approved by the FDA for once-daily treatment of inflammatory lesions of rosacea (papules and pustules) in adults. Low-dose, biphasic-release doxycycline (Oracea, and generics) has been available for years for treatment of papulopustular rosacea.

The FDA has approved a fixed-dose combination of omeprazole, amoxicillin, and rifabutin (Talicia – RedHill) for treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection in adults. Talicia is the first rifabutin-based product to be approved for this indication.

The FDA has approved the hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI) vadadustat (Vafseo – Akebia) for oral treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults who have been on dialysis for at least 3 months. Vadadustat is the second HIF-PHI to be approved in the US for this indication; daprodustat (Jesduvroq) was approved earlier, but it was withdrawn from the US market in 2024 for commercial reasons.