The war against antibiotic resistance still has far too many doctors playing the role of Benedict Arnold, a new study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)suggests.
Using the latest survey data culled from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the researchers estimated the nationwide rate of antibiotic overuse among outpatient medical providers such as emergency department staff and primary care physicians from 2010 to 2011. Specifically, they examined how often doctors were prescribing oral antibiotics for medical conditions already known to rarely require the drugs because they’re either not caused by bacteria or are simply too mild to be worth the hassle. For some conditions, like inflamed sinuses or ear infections, they instead assumed the lowest prescription rates seen around the country represented the appropriate level of antibiotic use.
The researchers determined that at least 30 percent of the antibiotics prescribed by these doctors were unnecessary; for acute respiratory conditions, that percentage jumped up to 50 percent. Though these data are several years old, it’s likely the rates haven’t substantially improved since, according to lead author Dr. Katherine Fleming-Dutra of the CDC… Read More>>
Source: Medical Daily
