Study: Fearful Doctors To Be Blamed As More Aussie Babies Are Given Antibiotics They May Not Need

A new study has found that more Australian babies are being treated with antibiotics they may not need, and fearful doctors are among the ones to be blamed.

A study by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute found that half of Australian babies were given antibiotics in their first year of life, and those with siblings were more likely to be prescribed antibiotics.

The Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health study focused on 660 babies from regional Victoria.

The average prescription rate is almost double that for Germany and 360 per cent higher than it is in Switzerland.

Italy was the only country of the eight examined to have higher antibiotic consumption in babies.

Lead author Professor David Burgner said that a significant proportion of antibiotics were prescribed for viral infections, which do not respond to antibiotics. He said that babies suffer, on an average, around eight viral illnesses each year, which means they are common, especially over winter.

Professor Burgner added that the overuse of antibiotics was a concern not only because of increasing drug resistance globally, but also because of a suspected link between antibiotics, asthma and childhood obesity.

The study identified that one of the factors driving inappropriate prescribing is parental pressure, but fearful doctors could also be to blame.

Associate Professor Penelope Bryant, chair of the paediatric arm of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, said that fear commonly pushes parents and doctors to prescribe antibiotics.

“The main thing that drives the overuse of antibiotics is fear. It’s fear for parents that their child is seriously unwell. It’s fear from doctors, often GPs, that they might get it wrong and something serious will happen to the child.”

“We also live in quite a litigious society and I think there is always a fear among doctors that if they do get it wrong that they’ll be consequences from a legal standpoint,” Professor Bryant said.

Professor Bryant urged GPs to always be given information comparing their prescribing habits against their colleagues and also information on the latest superbugs emerging in the community.

Source: Essentialbaby.com.au