DOCTORS UNDER FIRE: Handing out antibiotics like Smarties?

GPs are being told to resist patients’ demands for antibiotics after academics found that an over-reliance on the drugs is undermining our ability to fight infections and superbugs such as MRSA.

Ireland is one of only three countries in Europe where use of antibiotics rises every year and, as a result, the level of resistance is higher than the EU average. Commonly prescribed antibiotics are no longer able to kill bugs such as E.coli and even meningitis.

Up to 20% of pneumococcal infections are now resistant to penicillin, claims Robert Cunney, a consultant microbiologist. “Taking antibiotics when they are not needed may mean they will not work when you do [need them],” he said. “We risk squandering one of the most important medical advances of the past 100 years.”

JUST IN CASE: GPs need to be more sparing with antibiotics

GPs need to prescribe antibiotics sparingly instead of handing them out “just in case” when they are unsure whether their patient has a viral or bacterial infection, says Colin Bradley, a professor at University College Cork. Antibiotics only tackle bacterial infections.

Antibiotic prescriptions to medical-card patients jumped 25% between 2000 and 2005. There was a doubling in the prescription of quinolone antibiotics, the use of which has been linked to the development of life-threatening bugs such as MRSA and C difficile in hospitals.

GPs are to receive guidelines about the type of antibiotics they prescribe, duration of prescription and dosage strength.

RISING COSTS: Misuse is target for cost-cutting government

Even Brendan Drumm, chief executive of the Health Service Executive, has conceded that the problem of over-prescribing is “huge”. Cutting down on antibiotics for medical-card patients would help towards Mary Harney’s goal of saving €64m from the national drugs bill. The reversal of a decision to means-test all over-70s means the health minister is searching for new savings.

The authors of the Irish Medical Journal research said up to half of all prescriptions for antimicrobials, including penicillin, could be inappropriate. A survey cited by the Irish Pharmacy Union, meanwhile, suggests that older patients are risking their health and wasting drugs because one in four people aged over 50 does not finish their course of antibiotics.

GO AU NATURELLE: Grin and bear it instead

It’s not just doctors who are responsible for the over-use of antibiotics — a splutter sends many people rushing to their GP demanding a dose of penicillin. Instead, they could treat minor ailments themselves or use homeopathic remedies.

The use of antibiotics in France has declined steadily since 2001, partly because the French are reluctant to take them unless absolutely necessary. And while homeopathic medicine is often knocked as unscientific, the proportion of American hospitals offering some form of complementary alternative medicine grew from 7.7% in 1998 to 18.3% in 2004.

If the alternative fails to cure the sniffles, it might still be worth considering just grinning and bearing it.

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