Unnecessary Antibiotics Commonly Prescribed to Children With Asthma
Despite guidelines and a lack of evidence, children with asthma are more likely to receive antibiotics than children without asthma, according to new research being presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress.
Previous reports have indicated potentially higher use of antibiotics in children with asthma. In a recent study, researchers examined data from children aged 5 to 18 years identified between 2000 and 2014 from primary care databases in the Netherlands and UK. Asthma was defined as the presence of an asthma disease code and use of 2 or more asthma drugs in 1 year.
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Overall, children with asthma in both cohorts had significantly higher prevalence of antibiotic use than those without asthma (178 vs 131 per 1000 person-years in the Netherlands and 380 vs 261 per 1000 person-years in the UK). The most common indications bronchitis, and in children with asthma, a significant amount of prescriptions were associated with asthma exacerbation.
“Asthma is a common and ongoing condition, and it has symptoms that could be mistaken for a respiratory tract infection. However, international and national guidelines clearly state that antibiotics should not be given for a deterioration in asthma symptoms, because this is rarely associated with a bacterial infection,” stated Dr Esme Baan of the department of medical informatics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
“Of course, sometimes antibiotics are needed, but we should be careful and only prescribe them when they are really required. In general, we should discourage [general practitioners] from prescribing unnecessary antibiotics or run the risk of more drug-resistant infections in the future.”
—Michael Potts
References:
- Baan E, Janssens H, Kerchaert T, et al. Antibiotic use in children with asthma [presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress]. Abstract OA3449.
- Children with asthma are being prescribed unnecessary antibiotics [press release]. European Lung Foundation. September 11, 2017. http://www.europeanlung.org/en/news-and-events/media-centre/press-releases/children-with-asthma-are-being-prescribed-unnecessary-antibiotics.