Antibiotic treatment of common infections: more evidence to support shorter durations

Although there is increasing recognition of the link between antibiotic overuse and antimicrobial resistance, clinician prescribing is often unnecessarily long and motivated by fear of clinical relapse. High-quality evidence supporting shorter treatment durations is needed to give clinicians confidence to change prescribing habits. Here we summarize recent randomized controlled trials investigating antibiotic short courses for common infections in adult patients.