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Burden of antibiotic resistance in community settings greater than previously thought
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Antibiotic resistance by common infections has a greater effect on patients in the community setting than clinicians think, according to a recent study.
“Antibiotic resistance significantly impacts patients’ illness burden in the community,” researchers wrote in Clinical Infectious Diseases. “Patients with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant urinary and respiratory tract infections are more likely to experience delays in clinical recovery after treatment with antibiotics.”
The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 26 studies, including 5,659 patients, among whom various types of infections were diagnosed. The patients were treated in community settings such as general practice, hospital outpatient services and others.
In all, 1,268 (22.4%) of the infections were antibiotic resistant and 4,391 (77.6%) were antibiotic sensitive.
Clinical response failure was 4.19 times more likely in resistant Escherichia coli urinary tract infections (UTIs) than in antibiotic-sensitive cases (P < .001). Failure was also significantly more likely in resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae community-acquired pneumonia and acute otitis media than in their sensitive forms: 2.15-fold (P < .002) and 2.51-fold (P < .007), respectively.
Patients with resistant E. coli UTIs were 5.07 times more likely than those with a sensitive form to have a second consultation.
“Clinically, our findings support the need to better identify patients who might need an antibiotic,” they wrote. “By testing for antibiotic resistance through promoting and evaluating rapid diagnostics, we can avoid or reduce the risk of clinical response failure.” – by Joe Green
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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