Antibiotics: Did you know that 81% of the time, dentists prescribe unnecessary antibiotics?

WASHINGTON DC: Antibiotics prescribed by dentists to prevent infections are useless in 81% of cases.

According to a study published in the journal "JAMA Network Open", the prescription of unjustified antibiotics exposes patients to a risk of adverse effects and also contributes to the problem of antibiotic resistance.

"Preventive antibiotics in these patients gave them greater risks than the benefits," said McGregor, badociate professor at Ohio State University's College of Pharmacy.

Antibiotics are recommended for prophylaxis prior to certain dental procedures in patients with certain types of heart disease.

The researchers used a national database of health care claims to review nearly 170,000 antibiotic prescriptions written by dentists between 2011 and 2015.

The prescriptions concerned more than 90,000 patients, 57% of whom were women, with a median age of 63 years.

More than 90% of patients have had surgery that might justify taking an antibiotic in advance.

However, less than 21% of these people had a heart condition requiring an antibiotic prescription recommended by medical guidelines.

Under the direction of the corresponding author, Katie Suda, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, researchers also reviewed prescriptions at the regional level and found that unnecessary prescriptions prevailed the most. often, in percentage, in the West. Of the 13,735 orders issued, 11,601, or 85%, did not fit the guidelines.

Among patients who prescribed unnecessary antibiotics, clindamycin was the most common drug and joint implants, the most common reason.

"Dental providers are very caring when they develop care plans for their patients.Many factors influence the recommendations of dentists, but this study shows that dentists have the opportunity to re-evaluate if necessary", said Susan Rowan of Illinois-Chicago. College of Dentistry.