![World-renowned chef and healthy eating advocate Jamie Olivier has joined forces with Checkers to endorse its new partnership with Discovery Vitality’s healthy food benefit.Image supplied.](https://biz-file.com/c/2409/749717-64x64.jpg?2)
Subscribe & Follow
Jobs
- Office Manager George
- Staff Nurse George
- Head of PPC Johannesburg
- Executive Assistant Johannesburg
Doctors still prescribe antibiotics too often
![Image courtesy of ddpavumba /](https://biz-file.com/c/1310/148973.jpg)
Overprescribing of antibiotics is dangerous because it contributes to the rise of superbugs that do not respond to treatment.
US health officials have repeatedly warned that nearly all major bacterial infections in the world are becoming resistant to the antibiotic treatment of choice.
The latest study by Michael Barnett and Jeffrey Linder at Harvard University and Brigham and Women's Hospital included data on more than 8,100 visits to doctors' offices and emergency departments from 1997-2010.
Antibiotic prescribing rates were initially around 80% and have bottomed out at 60% for the past decade, said the research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"Among adults seeking care with sore throat, the prevalence of group A Streptococcus (GAS) infection, the only common cause of sore throat requiring antibiotics, is about 10%," said the letter.
The research shows that despite concerns about rising resistance to antibiotics, physicians are not changing their habit of regularly prescribing remedies like penicillin, amoxicillin and erythromycin which may not be necessary.
"Despite decades of effort, we found only incremental improvement in antibiotic prescribing for adults making a visit with sore throat," said the letter in JAMA.
"The antibiotic prescribing rate dropped from roughly 80% to 70% around 1993 and dropped again around 2000 to 60%, where it has remained stable."
Researchers noted that their data did not include details on the severity of the sore throats, so it was impossible to judge whether the prescriptions given were appropriate.
"Antibiotic prescribing to patients who are unlikely to benefit is not benign. All antibiotic prescribing increases the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria," the doctors concluded.
"The financial cost of unnecessary antibiotic prescribing to adults with sore throat in the United States from 1997 to 2010 was conservatively $500 million."
Source: AFP
Source: I-Net Bridge
![](https://biz-file.com/b/1206/36520.gif?3)
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za![](https://cdn.bizcommunity.com/f/2408/Loeries-Tote-bag-competition.gif)
![](/res/img/s.gif)