Antibiotics Still Being Overprescribed for Children
The November 9, 2005 issue of
the Journal of the American Medical Association, (JAMA) published a study that
showed that antibiotics are still being overprescribed for children who do
not need them, and in many cases when they do the wrong ones are being
given.
The
study showed that 53% of children with sore throats are being prescribed
antibiotics. In reality the study notes that only between 15 and 33%
of children with sore throats actually have strep throat. They note
that a true strep throat is one caused by infection from streptococci
bacteria.
Salynn Boyles, of WebMD
reporting on the study in a November 8, 2005 article noted that, "one in
four prescriptions involved antibiotics other than those recommended,
potentially increasing the risk for treatment failure and future drug
resistance."
The study did note that there
was a slight drop in the usage of antibiotics for children between 1995 and
2003, but the authors of the study attributed this drop to a decrease in the
antibiotic agents recommended for usage in strep throat. Chief study author,
Jeffrey A. Linder, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard
Medical School, noted, "The overall trend is down, but clearly there are
still too many antibiotics being prescribed."
The researchers found that a
test used to confirm the presence of a real strep throat was used only about
half the time. Even when this test was used, the study showed that the
test results had little effect on whether or not antibiotics were
prescribed anyway. Dr. Linder warned, "All kids should be given a strep test
before they are treated with antibiotics."
According to Linder the
bottom line is that most kids with sore throats probably shouldn't be taking
antibiotics, and a strep test should always be given before antibiotics are
prescribed. |