Patients who take prescribed antibiotics in primary care can go on to develop a resistance lasting up to a year, according to a study.
It is known that resistance to antibiotics is a major threat to public health. However, researchers aid that this is not seen by most clinicians or patients as a reason to refrain from using them, with many regarding the problem as minimal.
To address a lack of systematic reviews in the area, the authors analysed 24 existing studies of resistance in individual patients prescribed antibiotics in primary care, mainly for respiratory or urinary infections. They found strong evidence that individuals prescribed an antibiotic in primary care for a respiratory or urinary infection develop a resistance.
The effect is greatest in the month immediately after treatment, but may last for up to a year, and this residual effect may be a driver for high levels of resistance in the community. The review provides the evidence needed to quantify the link between individual prescribing decisions and the problem of resistance, concluded the authors. They say it highlights that the only way to avoid the “vicious cycle of resistance” is to avoid the initial use of antibiotics wherever possible. However, they also call for more clinical trials to strengthen the evidence base.
In an accompanying analysis, two specialists in economics and health policy argue that new antibiotics to tackle multi-drug resistant bacteria are much needed. They show how financial incentives might be used to persuade drug companies to develop new antibiotics, and suggest that such action needs to be accompanied by efforts to tackle overuse of antibiotics, which is currently fuelling the spread of resistant bacteria.
Three international experts reiterated the above views in an editorial and called for economic strategies to bring new drugs to market, and to conserve existing antibacterials. “Nothing less than the future of medicine, from organ transplants to chemotherapy, is at stake, and there will be no second chances,” the British Medical Journal quoted them as concluding. The study has been published on bmj.com.
Showing posts with label health issues. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health issues. Show all posts
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Regular use of pain killers worsens hearing in men
Regular use of pain killers like aspirin, acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ups risk of hearing loss in men below 60.
Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the US, afflicting over 36 million people. Not only is hearing loss highly prevalent among the elderly, but approximately a third of those aged 40-49 years already suffer hearing loss.
Even mild hearing loss can compromise the ability to understand speech in the presence of background noise or multiple speakers, leading to social isolation, depression, and poorer quality of life.
Investigators from Harvard University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Vanderbilt University and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, looked at factors other than age and noise that might influence the risk of hearing loss.
Aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen are the three most commonly used drugs in the US. The ototoxic effects of aspirin are well known and the ototoxicity of NSAIDs has been suggested, but the relation between acetaminophen and hearing loss has not been examined previously.
Ototoxicity is damage to the ear, specifically the cochlea or auditory nerve by a toxin. The relationship between these drugs and hearing loss is an important public health issue.
Participants were drawn from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, which tracked over 26,000 men every two years for 18 years. A questionnaire determined analgesic use, hearing loss and a variety of physiological, medical and demographic factors.
For aspirin, regular users under 50 and those aged 50-59 years were 33 percent more likely to have hearing loss than were non-regular users, but there was no association among men aged 60 years and older.
For NSAIDs, regular users aged under 50 were 61 percent more likely, those aged 50-59 were 32 percent more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16 percent more likely to develop hearing loss than non-regular users of NSAIDs, says a Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital press release.
For acetaminophen, regular users aged under 50 were 99 percent more likely, regular users aged 50-59 were 38 percent more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16 percent more likely to have hearing loss than non-regular users of acetaminophen.
These findings were published in the American Journal of Medicine.
Hearing loss is the most common sensory disorder in the US, afflicting over 36 million people. Not only is hearing loss highly prevalent among the elderly, but approximately a third of those aged 40-49 years already suffer hearing loss.
Even mild hearing loss can compromise the ability to understand speech in the presence of background noise or multiple speakers, leading to social isolation, depression, and poorer quality of life.
Investigators from Harvard University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Vanderbilt University and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, looked at factors other than age and noise that might influence the risk of hearing loss.
Aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen are the three most commonly used drugs in the US. The ototoxic effects of aspirin are well known and the ototoxicity of NSAIDs has been suggested, but the relation between acetaminophen and hearing loss has not been examined previously.
Ototoxicity is damage to the ear, specifically the cochlea or auditory nerve by a toxin. The relationship between these drugs and hearing loss is an important public health issue.
Participants were drawn from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, which tracked over 26,000 men every two years for 18 years. A questionnaire determined analgesic use, hearing loss and a variety of physiological, medical and demographic factors.
For aspirin, regular users under 50 and those aged 50-59 years were 33 percent more likely to have hearing loss than were non-regular users, but there was no association among men aged 60 years and older.
For NSAIDs, regular users aged under 50 were 61 percent more likely, those aged 50-59 were 32 percent more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16 percent more likely to develop hearing loss than non-regular users of NSAIDs, says a Harvard and Brigham and Women’s Hospital press release.
For acetaminophen, regular users aged under 50 were 99 percent more likely, regular users aged 50-59 were 38 percent more likely, and those aged 60 and older were 16 percent more likely to have hearing loss than non-regular users of acetaminophen.
These findings were published in the American Journal of Medicine.
