Antibiotics aren't a recommended treatment for asthma, yet doctors are prescribing them to roughly one in six children with asthma who shouldn't be getting them, according to new research.
That amounts to nearly 1 million prescriptions for antibiotics each year that aren't in accordance with national treatment guidelines, according to a report in the journal Pediatrics.
Asthma specialists say the overuse of antibiotics for kids with asthma is common.
"At least several times a week, I'm talking with families that have been prescribed antibiotics for asthma," said Dr. Mary Nevin, a pediatric pulmonologist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Ves Dimov, an allergist/immunologist and assistant professor at the University of Chicago, estimates 15 to 20 percent of the asthmatic children he sees have been given antibiotics unnecessarily.
Antibiotics treat bacterial infections. Asthma is a condition in which inflammation in the airways can cause wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath.
Recent studies have looked at whether certain antibiotics might be effective in alleviating asthma inflammation, but the results have been mixed, and current guidelines don't recommend their use.
The only exception is if a child with asthma also has a bacterial infection, such as sinusitis or pneumonia.
"When you treat a patient with antibiotics, No. 1, they won't get better, and, No. 2, we increase the risk of antibiotic resistance," Dimov said. "The next time they need an antibiotic, they might not respond to an antibiotic they previously responded to."
Antibiotics overuse has contributed to the spread of drug-resistant "superbugs" like MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Kids given antibiotics can also develop allergies and other side-effects. And unnecessary prescriptions mean needless costs.
It can be hard, especially for doctors who don't specialize in pediatric asthma, to tell asthma from other respiratory conditions that would respond to antibiotics. "They don't know for sure what is going on, and that's why they give them antibiotics," Dimov said, citing a patient treated seven times for "pneumonia" that was actually asthma.
One way to reduce overuse of antibiotics may be through patient education. Antibiotics were less likely to be prescribed during emergency room and doctor's office visits where the causes of asthma and recommended treatment were discussed, the study found.
Source : htxp://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/5679140-423/study-too-many-asthmatic-kids-being-given-antibiotics.html
2 comments:
Dr.Johan's links buy cipro , thinking about 150 mg diflucan , usa top rated elimite cream , discount diflucan review , clomid 100mg bonus
Fresh news, became buy elimite online , learn more about cipro online , buy cipro , every elimite cream , generic zithromax
Post a Comment