About Careers Internship MedBlog Contact us
Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Advertisement

Broad-spectrum Antibiotics for Pneumonia Leads Only to Super Bugs

by Gopalan on October 17, 2008 at 4:50 PM
 Broad-spectrum Antibiotics for Pneumonia Leads Only to Super Bugs

Use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for pneumonia leads only super bugs, a new Australian study warns.

The term broad-spectrum antibiotic refers to an antibiotic with activity against a wide range of disease-causing bacteria.

Advertisement

In the case of Australia, only five per cent of hospital patients with community-acquired pneumonia had infections caused by organisms that could not be successfully treated with penicillin combined with an "atypical" antibiotic such as doxycycline or erythromycin.

In the world's largest study of its kind, Dr. Patrick Charles, a PhD researcher at the university of Melbourne, analysed samples of blood, urine, sputum and viral swabs of the nose and throat taken from 885 patients admitted to six Australian hospitals over 28 months from 2004 to 2006.
Advertisement

He found that most cases of pneumonia were caused by easy-to-treat bacteria such as the pneumococcus or mycoplasma, or alternatively by respiratory viruses which do not require antibiotic therapy.

Only five per cent of cases were caused by organisms which would require more expensive and broad-spectrum antibiotics, and these cases were nearly all in patients who'd had frequent hospital admissions or were residents of nursing homes.

"The study results show that current Australian guidelines for prescribing antibiotics for pneumonia are appropriate," Dr Charles says.

"It shows that Australian doctors should resist the push which is occurring in some parts of the world - particularly the USA - to prescribe broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat essentially all possible causes."

Dr Charles says the trend towards broad-spectrum antibiotics is being driven by laboratory-based studies of resistance rates in bacteria sent to the labs, rather than clinical studies of patients with pneumonia.

In the laboratory-based studies, the bacterial isolates often come from highly selected patients with more difficult to treat disease.

In addition, the fear of litigation made some doctors unnecessarily opt for more aggressive treatments.

However, the more frequently these broad-spectrum antibiotics were used, the more likely it was that bacteria would be become resistant to them.

"The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens is one of the biggest threats to Australian health care standards and is closely linked to the inappropriate use of antibiotics," says Dr Charles.

"By continuing to use more traditional antibiotics to treat most cases of pneumonia, Australian doctors can limit or delay the emergence of more resistant strains of bacteria.

"By using the broad-spectrum antibiotics less often, we can also prolong the effective lifespan of these drugs.

"Furthermore, in the USA, Canada and some parts of Europe, they are seeing some serious complications which appear to be related to the overuse of some classes of broad-spectrum antibiotics which are frequently used there to treat respiratory infections."

Dr Charles is a physician in Infectious Disease and General Medicine at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. He is also an Honorary Lecturer in the University of Melbourne's Department of Medicine at the Hospital.

His study was recently published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases and he was recently conferred with a PhD for his research at the University of Melbourne.

Source: Medindia
GPL/SK
Font : A-A+

Advertisement

Advertisement
Advertisement

Recommended Readings

Latest Hospital News

25 Minutes of Walking is Better Than Bedrest for Older Patients
Researchers analyzed the optimal dose and type of physical activity to improve recovery and minimize adverse events in hospitalized older adults.
Power of Shared Medical Appointments: Research Insight
Understanding the impact of shared medical appointments on patients' well-being and actions has been explored by researchers.
Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria on the Rise: Implications of Kenyan Hospital Visits
Among individuals admitted to hospitals, 66% were found to be colonized with bacteria that displayed resistance to third-generation cephalosporins.
 Prehabilitation: Preparing Patients for Surgery Boosts Outcomes
Is prehabilitation associated with improved outcomes in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery? Yes, it improved overall function in comparison with usual care.
 Surgical Road Map for Healthcare Welfare in Low- And Middle-Income Countries
An exploratory investigation in Ghana revealed that surgical site infection was a statistically significant variable in determining postoperative healthcare costs.
View All
This site uses cookies to deliver our services.By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Use  Ok, Got it. Close
MediBotMediBot
Greetings! How can I assist you?MediBot
×

Broad-spectrum Antibiotics for Pneumonia Leads Only to Super Bugs Personalised Printable Document (PDF)

Please complete this form and we'll send you a personalised information that is requested

You may use this for your own reference or forward it to your friends.

Please use the information prudently. If you are not a medical doctor please remember to consult your healthcare provider as this information is not a substitute for professional advice.

Name *

Email Address *

Country *

Areas of Interests