Many patients with pneumonia receive too much antibiotics

FRIDAY, July 12, 2019 (HealthDay News) – Antibiotics could be prescribed antibiotics too long to two-thirds of hospitalized patients with pneumonia, increasing the risk of potentially harmful side effects, researchers said.

At 93 No. 37; In some cases, the abuse prescription involved the number of antibiotics received by patients upon discharge from the hospital.

Every year in the United States, pneumonia sends 1 million adults to the hospital. The new study examined the medical records of 6,500 pneumonia patients treated in 43 Michigan hospitals. Of these, 60% were interviewed by telephone one month after leaving the hospital.

According to a research team led by Dr. Valerie Vaughn of the University of Michigan, most of the patients who received antibiotics with too much prescription took an average of two extra days of pills. As she explained, the higher the number of antibiotics received by a patient exceeds the recommended minimum, the greater the risk of side effects such as stomach upset or yeast infections is high.

"The" antibiotic management ", which includes choosing the right drug and the appropriate duration for each patient, has become an integral part of most hospitals," said Vaughn, badistant professor of internal medicine.

"But these results show us that we need to pay more attention to management when leaving the hospital – and suggest that guidelines for prescribers be clearer on how to calculate a appropriate duration depending on the patient's condition, "she said.

Overprescription of antibiotics is also a contributing factor to antibiotic resistance, in which bacteria find ways to mutate around drugs.

The study revealed a large variation among hospitals in the percentage of pneumonia patients who had been prescribed antibiotics too long. In some hospitals, less than 50% of patients received too much medication, while others over – supplied almost all patients.

Vaughn added that national guidelines for the treatment of pneumonia are not specific.

She said that determining the amount of antibiotics needed by a patient with pneumonia depends on her diagnosis, plus the time it took her to stabilize after the start of treatment. In general, most patients without risk factors need about five days of antibiotics; While those with risk factors, or pneumonia caused by particularly difficult bacteria, need about seven days, Vaughn said.

The study was published June 8 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

More information

The US National Institute of Heart, Lung and Blood has more information on pneumonia.