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Antibiotic Prescribing Rates Vary by Region: Report
Posted 10 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 10 – The chances that your doctor will give you antibiotics when you're sick may be influenced by geography, new research reveals. It's tough to know exactly what factors contributed to the regional variations the research team found in antibiotic prescription rates, said study author Lauri Hicks, medical director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Why is West Virginia more than double compared to Alaska? I imagine there are provider factors, patient factors and cultural factors that are all shaping the impact," Hicks said. Some patients may pressure physicians to give them what they perceive as a "quick fix" so they can get back to work sooner or return their sick child to day care, Hicks added. Unfortunately, that contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, she said. "We should be thinking of antibiotics not as a magic bullet, ... Read more
Related support groups: Doxycycline, Bactrim, Bacterial Infection, Cephalexin, Penicillin, Azithromycin, Cipro, Levaquin, Zithromax, Augmentin, Ciprofloxacin, Keflex, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Biaxin, Clarithromycin, Avelox, Tetracycline
Patient Education Helps Prevent Overuse of Antibiotics for Cough, Study Finds
Posted 18 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 18 – Patient education in the form of brochures and posters helps reduce the overuse of antibiotics to treat bronchitis in teens and adults, according to a new study. The overuse of antibiotics to treat bronchitis could worsen trends in antibiotic resistance, the researchers noted. They said computer prompts alerting nurses to the need for patient education on the difference between bronchitis and pneumonia also are effective in reducing reliance on antibiotics. The study, led by Dr. Ralph Gonzales of the University of California, San Francisco, involved 33 primary care practices that are part of an integrated health care system in central Pennsylvania. At 11 practices, printed materials – including educational brochures and posters explaining the difference between bronchitis and pneumonia – were routinely offered to patients suffering from a cough. In 11 more ... Read more
Related support groups: Cough, Doxycycline, Bactrim, Azithromycin, Cipro, Bronchitis, Levaquin, Zithromax, Ciprofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Biaxin, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Clarithromycin, Avelox, Tetracycline, Levofloxacin, Doryx
Health Tip: Take Antibiotics Only When Needed
Posted 17 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com
-- The more you take an antibiotic unnecessarily, the more likely bacteria can adapt and become resistant to the drug. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers this advice to help prevent antibiotic resistance: Ask your doctor whether you need an antibiotic to treat your illness. Consider whether there are other ways to help you feel better that don't involve an antibiotic. Never take an antibiotic to treat a viral infection, such as the flu or common cold. An antibiotic can only treat infections that are bacterial, not viral. Always take an antibiotic exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Never skip a dose or stop taking it before your prescription is finished. Never take an antibiotic that was prescribed for someone else. Read more
Related support groups: Doxycycline, Bactrim, Bacterial Infection, Penicillin, Azithromycin, Cipro, Levaquin, Zithromax, Ciprofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Biaxin, Clarithromycin, Avelox, Tetracycline, Levofloxacin, Doryx, Solodyn
Unneeded Antibiotics May Lead to Diarrheal Illness, Study Finds
Posted 15 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 15 – Medical officials have long warned about the overuse of antibiotics, whose germ-killing powers have boosted the prevalence of deadly infections by eliminating good bacteria and allowing stronger bugs to prosper. Now, a new study suggests that many patients with a diarrhea-causing infection are prescribed antibiotics that lead to repeated bouts of illness. At issue is the Clostridium difficile infection, also known as C. difficile. It usually affects people who have used antibiotics or been hospitalized, and can lead to mild to severe diarrhea and even death in more vulnerable people. It's one of the most common infections people get from health care, and patients often suffer from it repeatedly, especially if they take antibiotics again. Researchers at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center looked at cases of patients with the infection and found that 57 ... Read more
Related support groups: Doxycycline, Bactrim, Azithromycin, Cipro, Levaquin, Zithromax, Ciprofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Biaxin, Clarithromycin, Avelox, Tetracycline, Levofloxacin, Doryx, Solodyn, Septra, Zithromax Z-Pak
Health Tip: Use Antibiotics Wisely
Posted 22 Nov 2012 by Drugs.com
-- Your child must take an antibiotic according to a doctor's prescription or label instructions, to make sure the medicine works properly and doesn't foster drug-resistant bacteria. The American Academy of Pediatrics offers these tips for parents: Make sure your child takes the entire course of medication exactly as prescribed. Give your child an antibiotic prescribed just for him or her; never share an antibiotic prescribed for someone else. Schedule any follow-up appointment recommended by your pediatrician after the antibiotic is finished – for example, an ear exam after an ear infection. Be sure to call the pediatrician if your child has finished an antibiotic and still isn't feeling well. Read more
Related support groups: Doxycycline, Bactrim, Cephalexin, Penicillin, Azithromycin, Cipro, Levaquin, Zithromax, Ciprofloxacin, Keflex, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Trimethoprim, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Biaxin, Nitrofurantoin, Macrobid, Clarithromycin, Avelox
Many Americans Still in the Dark About Antibiotic Resistance
Posted 13 Nov 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Nov. 13 – Americans are not as smart about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance as they should be, a new poll shows. For instance, although almost 90 percent of Americans know that antibiotics are effective for treating bacterial infections, more than a third also erroneously believed the drugs can fight viral infections such as the common cold or the flu. "It's a common misperception that antibiotics can cure the common cold, and unnecessary overuse of antibiotics for illnesses like colds is dumping fuel on a wildfire of resistance," said Dr. Lauri Hicks, medical director of the "Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work" program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" is soaring. In 2005, almost 370,000 Americans were hospitalized with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), up from only about 2,000 in ... Read more
Related support groups: Amoxicillin, Doxycycline, Bactrim, Bacterial Infection, Cephalexin, Penicillin, Azithromycin, Cipro, Levaquin, Zithromax, Ciprofloxacin, Keflex, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Trimethoprim, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection, Biaxin, Nitrofurantoin
U.S. Antibiotic Prescribing Rates Highest in South: Study
Posted 24 Sep 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Sept. 24 – Older people living in the South tend to use more antibiotics than their counterparts living elsewhere in the United States, a new study shows. These high rates are not tied to any differences in disease patterns, researchers found, suggesting that antibiotics may, in fact, be overprescribed in Southern states. Antibiotics overuse is linked to risk of drug resistance, and the proliferation of so-called superbugs. According to the new study, about 21 percent of people in the South used an antibiotic each quarter of the year. By contrast, the lowest rates of antibiotic use were seen in the West, where roughly 17 percent of people used an antibiotic each quarter. Rates in the Midwest were about 19 percent. The study, which appears online in the Sept. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, found wide variations among antibiotic prescribing rates across geographic ... Read more
Related support groups: Doxycycline, Bactrim, Bacterial Infection, Cephalexin, Azithromycin, Cipro, Levaquin, Zithromax, Ciprofloxacin, Keflex, Sulfamethoxazole, Erythromycin, Bactrim DS, Minocycline, Biaxin, Clarithromycin, Avelox, Cefdinir, Tetracycline, Levofloxacin
Two Antibiotics Linked to Liver Injury in Elderly
Posted 13 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Aug. 13 – A new study finds that two antibiotics commonly used to treat respiratory and sinus infections – moxifloxacin (Avelox) and levofloxacin (Levaquin) – may boost the risk of severe liver injury in seniors. The two drugs belong to a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. For the study, published Aug. 13 in CMAJ (the Canadian Medical Association Journal), Canadian researchers examined the medical records of 144 patients in Ontario who were over 65 and admitted to the hospital to treat liver injury within a month of receiving moxifloxacin or other antibiotics commonly used to treat respiratory infections. The patients had no history of liver disease, and 88 of them died. "Compared with clarithromycin, moxifloxacin was associated with a more than twofold increased risk of admission to hospital for acute liver injury," the study authors wrote in a journal news ... Read more
Related support groups: Levaquin, Avelox, Levofloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Avelox IV, Levaquin Leva-Pak
Two Antibiotics Linked to Liver Injury in Elderly
Posted 13 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Aug. 13 – A new study finds that two antibiotics commonly used to treat respiratory and sinus infections – moxifloxacin (Avelox) and levofloxacin (Levaquin) – may boost the risk of severe liver injury in seniors. The two drugs belong to a class of antibiotics called fluoroquinolones. For the study, published Aug. 13 in CMAJ (the Canadian Medical Association Journal), Canadian researchers examined the medical records of 144 patients in Ontario who were over 65 and admitted to the hospital to treat liver injury within a month of receiving moxifloxacin or other antibiotics commonly used to treat respiratory infections. The patients had no history of liver disease, and 88 of them died. "Compared with clarithromycin, moxifloxacin was associated with a more than twofold increased risk of admission to hospital for acute liver injury," the study authors wrote in a journal news ... Read more
Related support groups: Levaquin, Avelox, Levofloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Avelox IV, Levaquin Leva-Pak
Antiobiotic Resistance Spikes During Flu Season
Posted 11 Jul 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 11 – Resistance to antibiotics spikes during flu season, likely because that's when the drugs are prescribed more often, researchers report. Physicians and scientists have worried for years about the possible overuse of antibiotics, since germs can adapt and become immune to them over time. The researchers looked at statistics regarding antibiotic use and levels of resistance to the drugs. They found that levels of drug-resistant E. coli went up after spikes in prescriptions of two antibiotics, aminopenicillin and fluoroquinolone. The same thing happened to the antibiotic-resistant staph infection called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA. In the months after prescriptions for two other antiobiotics, fluoroquinolones and macrolides, went up, so did cases of MRSA. "The correlations are concerning, but they also suggest that interventions to ... Read more
Related support groups: Amoxicillin, Influenza, Cipro, Levaquin, Ciprofloxacin, Avelox, Levofloxacin, Ampicillin, Amoxil, Ofloxacin, Amoxil Pediatric Drops, Moxifloxacin, Gatifloxacin, Norfloxacin, Floxin, Sparfloxacin, Factive, Noroxin, Gemifloxacin, Moxatag
FDA Approves Levaquin as an Antibacterial Treatment for Plague
Posted 30 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
April 27, 2012 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Levaquin (levofloxacin) to treat patients with plague, a rare and potentially deadly bacterial infection. The agency also approved the drug to reduce the risk of getting plague after exposure to Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes the disease. Plague is extremely rare in most parts of the world, including the United States, with 1,000 to 2,000 cases worldwide each year. The three most common forms of plague are bubonic plague (infection of the lymph nodes), pneumonic plague (infection of the lungs), and septicemic plague (infection of the blood). Primarily an animal disease, plague can be spread to humans through bites from infected fleas, contact with infected animals or humans, or laboratory exposure. Yersinia pestis also is considered a biological threat agent, which could potentially be used as a ... Read more
Related support groups: Levaquin, Levofloxacin, Plague Prophylaxis, Plague
Levaquin Approved to Treat or Prevent Plague
Posted 27 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, April 27 – Approval of the antibiotic Levaquin (levofloxacin) has been expanded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to include plague, a rare but deadly bacterial infection. The disease is extremely rare in the United States, and only about 1,000 to 2,000 cases occur each year across the globe, the agency said in a news release. The three most common forms of plague include bubonic (affecting the lymph nodes), pneumonic (lungs) and septicemic (blood stream). Animals are most frequently infected, although plague can be spread to people by fleas, contact with infected animals or other people, or by exposure in the laboratory. The bacterium that causes plague, Yersinia pestis, is considered a potential bioterrorism agent, the FDA said. Levaquin was tested under the agency's Animal Efficacy Rule, which allows findings from carefully controlled tests in animals to be applied to ... Read more
Related support groups: Levaquin, Levofloxacin, Plague, Levaquin Leva-Pak, Plague Prophylaxis
Antibiotics Linked to Retinal Detachment Risk
Posted 3 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, April 3 – People taking antibiotics called fluoroquinolones may be at a small risk of an eye condition called retinal detachment, a new study suggests. These commonly prescribed antibiotics, used to fight a variety of bacterial infections, have been linked to other eye problems, including corneal perforations, optic neuropathy and retinal hemorrhages. But this is the first study that has linked them to retinal detachment, a serious medical emergency that may lead to blindness, the Canadian researchers said. "These are powerful antibiotics, so they should only be used in patients who really need them, as many studies show they are inappropriately prescribed," said lead researcher Dr. Mahyar Etminan, an assistant professor of medicine at the Child and Family Research Institute of British Columbia in Vancouver. "Patients who experience floaters or flashes of light in their visual ... Read more
Related support groups: Cipro, Levaquin, Ciprofloxacin, Avelox, Levofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Retinal Disorders, Gatifloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Norfloxacin, Floxin, Sparfloxacin, Gemifloxacin, Noroxin, Factive, Lomefloxacin, Nalidixic Acid, Cipro IV, Cinobac, Tequin
Experts Warn of Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea
Posted 8 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 8 – Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea is an increasingly worrisome reality, and steps need to be taken to limit the risk that an untreatable strain of the sexually transmitted disease will spread, U.S. researchers warn. "We're trying to stay a step ahead by putting these warnings and alerts out," said Dr. Gail Bolan, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of sexually transmitted diseases prevention. Over 600,000 Americans contract gonorrhea every year, making it the nation's second-most common communicable disease. Minorities of all types – whether in terms of race, ethnicity or sexual orientation – are considered among the most vulnerable populations, according to background information in the new report. Drug-resistant gonorrhea isn't a new phenomenon, Bolan and her colleagues said. During World War II, gonorrhea became resistant to the drug ... Read more
Related support groups: Cipro, Levaquin, Ciprofloxacin, Avelox, Levofloxacin, Rocephin, Cefixime, Ceftriaxone, Ofloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Gatifloxacin, Norfloxacin, Floxin, Sparfloxacin, Suprax, Noroxin, Factive, Gemifloxacin, Gonococcal Infection, Lomefloxacin
Southeast U.S. Still Using High Levels of Antibiotics, Study Shows
Posted 16 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 16 – Overall outpatient use of antibiotics in the United States fell about 12 percent between 1999 and 2007, but alarmingly high use in the Southeast could speed the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, researchers warn. The findings were released by Extending the Cure, a project of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy in Washington, D.C. The five states with the highest antibiotic use are West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. Residents of West Virginia and Kentucky take about twice as many antibiotics per capita as those living in Oregon and Alaska. Penicillins are the most popular antibiotics and account for nearly one out of every three prescriptions filled in the United States. But the market share of penicillins has fallen 28 percent as doctors increasingly turn to more powerful antibiotics, according to a news release ... Read more
Related support groups: Bacterial Infection, Cipro, Levaquin, Ciprofloxacin, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection, Avelox, Levofloxacin, Ofloxacin, Gatifloxacin, Moxifloxacin, Norfloxacin, Floxin, Sparfloxacin, Gemifloxacin, Noroxin, Factive, Lomefloxacin, Nalidixic Acid, Cipro IV, Cinobac
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