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 has found that there is a big difference between doctors treating one specific health problem – meaning that patients seeking medical help for this common problem may want a second opinion just in case. Read on to find out what health problem you need to follow up on, and for more recent health news, this one thing can help you lose 20 percent of your body weight.
Researchers studied insurance claims for 670,400 women aged 18 to 44 years who received a urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnosis between April 2011 and June 2015. Their findings were published in the journal on February 24. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. According to the study, nearly 47 percent of the prescribed prescriptions were incorrect, or ‘inappropriate based on clinical guidelines’. According to these guidelines, the researchers classified fluoroquinolones and beta-lactams as inappropriate antibiotics. “Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is fairly common for the treatment of uncomplicated UTIs,” the researchers concluded. Call your doctor for more urinary problems, if your urine still has nothing but these colors.
Not only were inappropriate antibiotics often prescribed, but the researchers also found that most prescriptions were written for the wrong duration – even if a suitable antibiotic was prescribed. According to the study, 76 percent of patients were prescribed treatments for the wrong time. Doctors would probably prescribe antibiotics for longer than medically necessary, not shorter. And for more health concerns, discover the surprising thing your overgrowth says about your health, find study.
Anne Mobley Butler, PhD, lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine and surgery at the Washington University 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 in the US dies every 15 minutes from an infection that is resistant to antibiotics.
“Accumulating evidence suggests that patients have better outcomes if we change prescriptions from broad-spectrum to narrow-spectrum antibiotics and from longer to shorter duration,” Butler said. “Promoting optimal antimicrobial use benefits the patient and society through avoidable side effects, microbiome disruption and antibiotic-resistant infections.” And sign up for our daily newsletter for more information.
This study is particularly relevant for most of the female population, as the likelihood that you will have at least one UTI in your life is high. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50 percent of adult women report having one or more UTIs in their lives. According to the CDC, symptoms of a UTI may include: “pain or burning during urination, frequent urination, the need to urinate, despite an empty bladder, bloody urine and pressure or cramps in the groin or lower abdomen.” And for more CDC guidance you need to know, say CDC if your grocery store does not have it.
Researchers suggest that more intervention measures are needed so that doctors are less likely to prescribe inappropriate antibiotics or antibiotic duration. This would include ‘establishing personal and policy commitment to change, reporting on progress and improving education around best practices’, especially in rural areas where prescribing antibiotics for antibiotics is more likely to be wrong. The study explains that patients in rural areas were diagnosed “by GPs or non-physicians” rather than by physicians with internal medicine or obstetrics / gynecology (OBGYN), who can best address the lack of knowledge practices . For more health advice, talk to a doctor before taking vaccination.