WASHINGTON — Despite years of warnings, doctors still overprescribe antibiotics for acute respiratory infections even though most are caused by viruses that those drugs cannot help.
Now doctors are getting new tips on how to avoid unnecessary antibiotics for these common complaints — and to withstand the patient who’s demanding one.
“Antibiotics are terrific. Thank God we have them for really bad things. But we need to be judicious in the way we use them,” said American College of Physicians President Dr. Wayne J. Riley, an internal medicine professor at Vanderbilt University.
Rather than sending patients off with little advice about what to do while their bodies fight off a virus, how about a prescription for over-the-counter or home remedies that might ease the cough or the pain?
“We’re calling for the symptomatic prescription pad,” Riley said, describing information sheets that suggest simple aids like humidifiers and plenty of fluid — and to tell patients when to return if they’re not getting better.
Antibiotics are losing their effectiveness, and inappropriate prescribing is one factor. Repeated exposure can lead germs to become resistant to the drugs. The CDC estimates that drug-resistant bacteria cause 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year in the U.S.
The CDC has seen improvement from pediatricians in antibiotic prescribing, but overuse remains a big problem for adults, especially with respiratory illnesses.
