Treatment of common diarrhea with antibiotics brings more harm than good – said specialists at a conference organized by the National Institute of Public Health – National Institute of Hygiene.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), as much as 70 percent. diseases in which doctors prescribe antibiotics are viral infections in which this does not make sense. Poland is a country that uses antibiotics to an average – by European standards – degree. We take from 19 to 25 conventional doses per 1000 inhabitants per day, approximately twice as much as the reticent Scandinavians, but about twice less than the extravagantly using antibiotics by Italians, Spaniards, French and Greeks. Because of diarrhea alone, we use 5,5 million doses of antibiotics a year – often prescribed by doctors who are demanding it by patients.
It is easier for a doctor to prescribe an antibiotic for peace of mind than to convince a patient who can go to another doctor for an antibiotic. Polish family doctors ordered antibiotics 79 percent. patients with infection of the upper respiratory tract and half of patients with a cold. Men and villagers received them more often.
Research conducted at the NIPH-PZH and published in the Epidemiology & Infection magazine shows that antibiotics are used too often in the treatment of acute diarrhea in Poland. This leads not only to prolongation of symptoms, but also threatens the emergence of strains resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics.
As the co-author of the study, Dr. Paweł Stefanoff said, apart from the possible harmful effects of some antibiotics on the kidneys, liver or the inner ear, the unnecessarily treated person weakens the immunity and the useful intestinal flora disappears. The long-term effects can be even more serious – antibiotics can become useless over time.
If this happens, elective surgery, such as implant placement, cannot be safely performed, and there will be huge difficulties in intensive care units or keeping premature babies alive. Already, drug-resistant bacteria cause 400 infections in Europe each year, killing 25 people, and the associated costs are enormous. Methicillin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus are a particular problem. As noted by Dr. Tomasz Szkoda, antibiotics used in veterinary medicine are largely responsible for the formation of resistant strains – they were once commonly administered to animals to help them gain weight better.
Statistically, almost every Pole has diarrhea every year – the number of such episodes is estimated at 33 million a year. The most common are viral infections, mainly caused by noroviruses. There is no point in giving antibiotics – the most important thing is to stay well hydrated. The best prevention is washing your hands – no wonder that the disease often occurs among children in summer camps.
On the other hand, travelers’ diarrhea among tourists in Egypt called the Pharaoh’s curse is usually caused by exotic strains of the common intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli, which produce toxins, which are sensitive to antibiotics. Here, too, proper hydration is essential – local pharmacies are well-stocked with preparations to replenish the lost mineral salts.
The WHO and the World Association of Gastroenterologists (WGO) recommend antibiotics only in the rare rare cases where acute diarrhea is severe, bacterial, bloody, or premature. Unfortunately, primary care physicians can only order tests for Salmonella and Shigella, which have long been no longer the main diarrheal threat – Campylobacter replaced them in this role.
Dr. Jolanta Szych noted that antibiotics themselves can cause diarrhea – often bloody, caused by the resistant bacterium Clostridium difficile.
On the website: www.antybiotyki.edu.pl you can find information for patients and recommendations for doctors regarding the use of antibiotics (PAP).
pmw / agt /