When it comes to our health, most of us turn to medical professionals for the best treatment, without questioning their methods or measures. But your doctor is only human and may not always be right. A new study found a big discrepancy between doctors who treat a specific health problem – meaning that patients seeking medical help for that common problem may want a second opinion, just in case. Read on to find out which health issue requires monitoring and, for the latest health news, This One Thing Can Help You Reduce Your Body Weight by 20%.
The researchers studied claims for compensation from 670,400 women aged 18 to 44 who were diagnosed with urinary tract infection (ITU) between April 2011 and June 2015, publishing their findings on February 24 in the newspaper Infection control and hospital epidemiology. According to the study, almost 47% of prescriptions issued were incorrect or “inadequate based on clinical guidelines”. According to these guidelines, the study’s researchers classified fluoroquinolones and beta-lactams as inappropriate antibiotics. “The inadequate prescription of antibiotics is quite common for the treatment of uncomplicated UTI”, concluded the researchers. And for more urinary problems, if your urine is anything but those colors, call your doctor.
Not only were inappropriate antibiotics frequently prescribed, but researchers also found that most prescriptions were made with incorrect durations – even if an appropriate antibiotic was prescribed. According to the study, 76% of patients received treatments prescribed for the wrong period of time. Doctors were more likely to prescribe antibiotics for longer than clinically necessary, not longer. And for more health concerns, find out the amazing thing your ear wax says about your health, a study found.
Anne Mobley Butler, PhD, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine and surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine, St. Louis, explained in a statement that incorrect antibiotic prescriptions for UTIs have “serious consequences for the patient and society “. According to a 2019 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person dies in the United States every 15 minutes due to an infection that has become resistant to antibiotics.
“The accumulation of evidence suggests that patients do better when we switch from broad-spectrum to narrow-spectrum and longer-term antibiotics,” Butler said. “Promoting optimal use of antimicrobials benefits the patient and society by preventing preventable adverse events, disrupting the microbiome and antibiotic-resistant infections.” And for the most up-to-date information, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
This study is particularly relevant for the majority of the female population, as the probability that you will have at least one UTI in your life is high. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of adult women report having one or more UTIs in their lives. According to the CDC, symptoms of a UTI can include “pain or burning when urinating, frequent urination, feeling the need to urinate despite having an empty bladder, urine with blood and pressure or cramps in the groin or lower abdomen” . And for more guidance from the CDC, you need to know: If your grocery store doesn’t have it, don’t go in, says the CDC.
The researchers suggest that more intervention measures are needed so that doctors are less likely to prescribe inappropriate antibiotics or antibiotic durations. This would include “establishing a personal and political commitment to change, report on progress and improve education around best practices”, especially in rural settings where prescribing UTI antibiotics is more likely to be incorrect. The study explains that rural patients were more likely to have been “diagnosed by family medicine or pediatricians or non-doctors”, rather than doctors of internal medicine or obstetrics / gynecology (OBGYN), which may be responsible for the lack of knowledge on best practices. And for more health advice, if you take this common medicine, talk to a doctor before the vaccine.