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Giving antibiotics to patients who come to hospital with respiratory infections does not reduce mortality, a study shows.
Many patients who come to hospital with acute respiratory infections caused by viruses are treated with antibiotics. Even if antibiotics do not attack viruses, they are given to prevent the patient from also suffering from a bacterial infection.
But it may be unnecessary, according to Norwegian researchers. They examined the effect of antibiotic treatment on mortality in 2,100 patients with respiratory tract infections. The results, which will be presented at the European Congress ECCMID in April but have not yet been published in a scientific journal, point to no impact on mortality within 30 days of patients arriving at hospital.
Corona and flu
The viruses that the patients were infected with included influenza virus, RS virus and coronavirus.
When the researchers took into account factors such as sex, age, medical condition and other diseases the patients had, they found that those who received antibiotics during their stay were twice as likely to die within 30 days.
– The results indicate that there is a large over-prescription of antibiotics, Magrit Jarlsdatter Hovind from Akerhus University Hospital in Oslo and one of the researchers behind the study, told Reuters.
The researchers point out that based on the study, it is not possible to determine that it is the antibiotic that is behind the difference in mortality. It may be that those who received antibiotics had a more severe disease after all, which may have affected the results.
Study in progress
In an ongoing study where the researchers randomly assign patients to be treated with antibiotics or not, they hope to get clearer answers.
– Reducing the use of antibiotics in patients with viral infections can help tackle the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. But more robust evidence and more studies are needed to decide whether these patients should be treated with antibiotics or not, says Magrit Jarlsdatter Hovind.
Facts
Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotics are used to treat infections caused by bacteria.
Overuse of antibiotics has led to some bacteria becoming resistant, i.e. resistant to antibiotics.
When the bacteria encounter the antibiotic, they can develop resistance by mutating. Then the patient needs to switch to a type that works. But in the long run, new mutations arise – and eventually, in the worst case, there is nothing left to switch to.
The risk of resistance decreases if the antibiotics are not used unnecessarily and if the bacteria are not exposed to excessively low or short-term doses.
In the spring, the EU Commission will present a new proposal on how to tackle the resistance problem.
Sources: National Encyclopedia, Vårdguiden
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