The Antibiotic Abuse Page

This section was compiled by Frank M. Painter, D.C.
Send all comments or additions to:   Frankp@chiro.org

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“Antibiotic resistance comes mainly because of inappropriate or improper use of antibiotics by physicians. Some 150 million prescriptions are written annually in this country. And 60 percent of them — that translates to 90 million prescriptions — are for antibiotics. Of those, 50 million are absolutely unnecessary or inappropriate”. — Dr. Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at New York University Medical Center

	The Iatrogenic Injury Page A Chiro.Org article collection A collection of articles discussing the dangerous, and often fatal side effects of medical care.
	Antibiotic Exposure by 6 Months and Asthma and Allergy at 6 Years: Findings in a Cohort of 1,401 US Children American Journal of Epidemiology 2011 (Feb 1); 173 (3): 310–318 This study assesed early antibiotic use (1st 6 months of life), asthma and allergy at 6 years of age in 1,401 children. Antibiotic exposure was associated with a 52% increased risk of asthma overall, and there was an 89% increased risk in children with no family history of asthma. The authors conclude that early antibiotic use is associated with asthma and allergy at 6 yrs of age.
	Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Background on Antibiotic Resistance The CDC has been asking medical doctors for years to stop throwing antibiotics at every illness that walks in their door. It is their failure to comply that has contributed to the dramatic increase in new resistant strains of bacteria.
	Antibiotic Use: Is Appropriateness Expensive? J Hosp Infect 2009 (Feb); 71 (2): 108–111 Antibiotics are prone to misuse. In this study, 37% of 600 antibiotic prescriptions in three hospitals were considered unnecessary. When antibiotic therapy was indicated, 45% were considered to be inadequate. In multivariate analyses, the indicated treatments were found to be more expensive than the unjustified ones, probably because the latter were more often oral regimens. However, for indicated treatments, the cost of adequate and inadequate treatments did not differ significantly.
	Antibiotic Use In Infants Linked To Asthma The Science Advisory Board (June 13, 2007) New research indicates that children who receive antibiotics before their first birthday are significantly more likely to develop asthma by age 7. The study, published in the June issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), reports that children receiving antibiotics in the first year of life were at greater risk for developing asthma by age 7 than those not receiving antibiotics. The risk for asthma doubled in children receiving antibiotics for nonrespiratory infections, as well as in children who received multiple antibiotic courses and who did not live with a dog during the first year.
	Early Life Infections Improve the Function of the Immune System American J of Clinical Chiropractic 2006 (Apr); 16 (2): 22–25 This collection of medical citations presented by Dan Murphy, DC demonstrates that early exposure to antibiotic use and Pertussis vaccination contribute to the development of atopic disorders such as asthma, and hay fever, and may also be associated with the onset of pediatric lymphoblastic leukemia. Our thanks to Harrison Chiropractic Biophysics Seminars and the American Journal of Clinical Chiropractic for releasing this article exclusively at Chiro.Org!
	Misuse of Antibiotics for Sore Throat J American Medical Association 2001 (Sep 12); 286 (10): 1181–1186 Sore throat is the second-most common symptomatic reason for seeking medical care, with cough being the most common. Approximately 76% of adults who visit a primary care physician because of a sore throat are given an antibiotic, even though viruses that are not affected by antibiotics are the primary cause for upper-respiratory-tract infections . The only common cause of a sore throat that can be managed with antibiotics is the bacterial group A beta-hemolytic streptococci (GABHS), which is present in throat cultures in only 5-17% of adults.
	The Challenge of Antibiotic Resistance Scientific American March 1998 Last year an event doctors had been fearing finally occurred. In three geographically separate patients, an often deadly bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, responded poorly to a once reliable antidote--the antibiotic vancomycin. Fortunately, in those patients, the staph microbe remained susceptible to other drugs and was eradicated. But the appearance of S. aureus not readily cleared by vancomycin foreshadows trouble.
	The Rise of Antibiotic-Resistant Infections FDA Consumer Magazine (September 1995) Antibiotic resistance spreads fast. Between 1979 and 1987, for example, only 0.02 percent of pneumococcus strains infecting a large number of patients surveyed by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were penicillin-resistant. CDC's survey included 13 hospitals in 12 states. Today, 6.6 percent of pneumococcus strains are resistant, according to a report in the June 15, 1994, Journal of the American Medical Association by Robert F. Breiman, M.D., and colleagues at CDC. The agency also reports that in 1992, 13,300 hospital patients died of bacterial infections that were resistant to antibiotic treatment.

Over-utilization of Pharmaceuticals In the area of antibiotics alone, the most prominent problem has been the over-utilization of drugs. The Center for Disease Control, for instance, estimates that 1/3 of the antibiotics taken on an outpatient basis in the United States are unnecessary. Increasing use of antibiotics is linked to the increase of their resistance by bacteria; in the United States, 14,000 people die each year from drug-resistant infections picked up in hospitals. [1] In terms of healthcare costs, the rising use of pharmaceuticals has profound consequences. From 1993 to 1998, for instance, annual drug expenditures in the U.S. nearly doubled from $50.6 billion to $93.4 billion, most of the expenses being borne by third-party payors. [2] Total spending on prescription drugs doubled from 1995 to 2000 and tripled from 1990 to 2000, constituting one of the main factors driving up health care expenditures overall. [3] From:   Testimony to the Department of Veterans Affairs' Chiropractic Advisory Committee George B. McClelland, D.C., Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research March 25, 2003 1 Abuse of Antibiotics. Lead editorial. International Herald Tribune June 19, 2000, p. 8 2 National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Education Foundation report prepared by the Barents Group LLC, July 9, 1999 3 Report from the Department of Health and Human Services, reported in the New York Times, January 8, 2002.

World Health Organization Says Too Many Antibiotics in Foods The WHO noted that excessive use of antimicrobials in food animals contributes to the development of treatment-resistant bacteria that can be transmitted to humans, mainly through food. Review their recommendations for Non-human Use of Antimicrobials.

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