[ad_1]
A new survey has found that among parents, almost half save leftover antibiotics prescribed for their children rather than disposes of them. And nearly three-quarters of those parents give the leftover antibiotics to someone else without consulting a doctor.
The findings are from an abstract to be presented today at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Tamara Kahane, a medical student at New York University Medical School and one of the authors of the abstract, said the idea for the study was hatched when she and colleagues at a developmental and behavioral pediatrics office remarked something interesting: a lot of patients were saying that they had already taken antibiotics to "self-treat" illnesses, without any prior medical consultation. A subsequent review of parenting blogs and advice websites revealed a similar trend.
"Many parents were in fact encouraged to take antibiotics as a precaution," said Kahane told CIDRAP News. "That made us much more interested in this topic."
Antibiotic diversion
In the survey, 454 of 496 parents said that they often had leftover antibiotics from a previous prescription given to their children, and 219 (48.2%) reported saving the antibiotics instead of disposing of them. Of the parents who saved their antibiotics, 159 (72.6%) stated that they had subsequently diverted those antibiotics for others to use.
Survey participants most usually reported with antibiotics, but they also reported taking antibiotics themselves and giving them to children and adults outside the family. Although the focus of the survey was on antibiotics prescribed for children, 16% of participants reported that they had prescribed antibiotics.
These are the most common antibiotics in the world of antibiotics, which are thought to be the most likely cause of the antibiotic.
"I think it is really lacking in understanding what types of infections are necessary for antibiotic use, and that they are not a cure-all for any type of childhood illness," Kahane said. It also indicates a lack of awareness of possible side effects or adverse events associated with antibiotics.
Furthermore, the findings suggest that parents do not understand, or do not appreciate, that sharing the leftover antibiotic can promote antibiotic resistance. "Parents may find that hard to conceptualize their own, because they do not think it affects them or their children," she said.
Survey participants also said they wanted to save money and avoid another doctor's visit. Kahane said that it is an issue that she and her colleagues will delve further into future surveys.
Antibiotic diversion was most common with liquid antibiotics and drops, with 80.4% and 73.8% of parents whose children had been prescribed these formulations saying they shared the medications with others. Diversion was less common with antibiotic creams (69.7%) and tablets (55.6%).
When survey participants were asked if their healthcare providers were discussed, they reported that they had not received antibiotics, 57.3% reported that they had not.
Sharing medication a common problem
Jonathan Zipkin, MD, associate medical director with Northwell Health – GoHealth Urgent Care in New York and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the findings of the survey are not surprising. He noted that previous studies have investigated the phenomenon of leftover antibiotics, with one meta-analysis finding that more than 25% of patients retain antibiotics for future use.
He also sees it first-hand.
"In my own anecdotal experience, I unfortunately hear of this practice in a minority of patients regularly," said Zipkin, who was not involved with the study. "A large portion of this practice … comes from misunderstanding of the 'right drug for the right bug' specific mechanism of antibiotics, and the negative impact of antibiotic resistance."
But he added that diverting medications is not new to antibiotics.
"Research has clearly documented that patients save a variety of unused medications," Zipkin said. "Dialogue on the topic focuses on the inertia barrier it takes to properly dispose of medications, as well as the value that patients place in the first place.
"After all, the doctor's visit and prescription," he added.
Kahane said she thinks the widespread trend of patients sharing medications like stimulants and analgesics plays a role.
"Living in a world where medications are also helpful to parents to share antibiotics," she said.
Kahane said she and her co-authors are looking at the best ways to communicate with the parents of the dangers of sharing leftover antibiotics, emphasizing not just the individual dangers but the role that it can play in promoting antibiotic resistance.
See also:
Nov. 2 American Academy of Pediatrics press release, abstract
Source link
