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Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

Patients often require no treatment since many infections are self-limited. However, the main treatment is hydration, in the form of either oral or intravenous hydration. Several studies suggest that antibiotics should not be used because they lead to a more severe disease. This increase in severity is believed to be related to the damaging effect of the antibiotic on the bacteria, causing the damaged bacteria to release more toxins. The use of antibiotics has been reported to markedly increase the incidence of HUS (17-fold). Investigators suggest antibiotic use only if the patient is septic.

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