MILLIONS OF euro could be saved and the incidence of healthcare associated infections could be driven downwards if antibiotics were used less in Irish hospitals and in the community, a leading microbiologist said yesterday.
Prof Hilary Humphreys, a consultant at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital, said antibiotics should be used more prudently as excessive use leads to antibiotic resistant bacteria like MRSA, a frequent cause of infection in Irish hospitals.
He said doctors must balance the needs of individual patients against the potential consequences of emerging antibiotic resistance when considering whether or not to prescribe an antibiotic.
“In Ireland doctors need to reduce the amount of antibiotics being prescribed, which is high by European standards,” he said.
The public, he added, can greatly assist by understanding that not every infection requires an antibiotic.
“Most common infections, and in particular colds and flu-like illnesses, are caused by viruses and therefore will not respond to antibiotics,” he explained.
“It is alarming that despite increasing awareness of this problem, Ireland is one of only three countries in Europe where outpatient antibiotic prescribing is increasing,” he said.
Other countries in Europe are gradually reducing their antibiotic prescribing year on year.
Asked if he felt Ireland could do the same, he said: “We can achieve that if we have an aggressive, assertive, multi-pronged approach involving prescribers and the health service but we have to bring patients and the public on board with us so that they understand that every bug doesn’t need a drug.”
Prof Humphreys also pointed out that there are currently few, if any, new antibiotics in development for use in treating infections, which was another reason to use the ones we already have more judiciously.
He was speaking at the launch of a position paper by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) on antibiotic use and the implications for healthcare associated infections.
The document states that the RCPI is supporting efforts to reduce antibiotic use by providing training on this topic to over 1,000 junior doctors on its postgraduate training programmes.
Prof Humphreys also stressed that in the current economic climate it should be borne in mind that reduced use of antibiotics would not just help in reducing healthcare associated infections, it would also save money.
He said 20 to 30 per cent of a hospital’s budget goes on antibiotics and if antibiotic use was cut by 5 or 10 per cent, millions could be saved.
“Reducing antibiotic use will reduce costs for patients and the Health Service Executive, minimise side effects and more importantly, help check the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria,” the RCPI’s position paper says.
The RCPI is also developing position papers on advice for people with healthcare associated infections when discharged from hospital and on dealing with such infections in nursing homes. These are due to be published later this year.