Misuse of antibiotics a concern, doctors say

Patients said they pressure their doctors for antibiotics they don’t need, fail to finish antibiotics as they are prescribed and improperly dispose of leftover drugs, posing a potential threat to local water supplies, according to a new poll of Long Island and New York City residents.

The poll — part of South Nassau’s mission of shining a light on public health issues — was conducted by polling firm LJR Custom Strategies via landlines and cell phones from Feb. 26 to March 1. The study collected data from 600 residents, which was presented at a news conference on April 4.

“The South Nassau poll results reinforce what those in the medical community already know: there is a tremendous amount of antibiotic use that is inappropriate, dangerous and harmful to you and to society,” said Dr. Aaron E. Glatt, chairman of South Nassau’s Department of Medicine and a spokesman for the Infectious Disease Society of America. 

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics is a major public health concern in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it more difficult for physicians to easily treat many infections. Research suggests improper use of antibiotics has led to the development of so-called ‘super bugs’ that are resistant to many, and sometimes all, of the existing antibiotics, and are highly lethal.

Patients who take antibiotics they don’t need can kill off “good” protective bacteria in their guts that ward off disease, doctors said. Nearly half of poll respondents were unaware that overuse of antibiotics can lead to the spread of these antibiotic-resistant super bugs. The No. 1 inappropriate use of antibiotics involves an upper respiratory illness, according to Glatt. In those cases, 95 percent of the time an antibiotic is not the proper course of treatment, he said.

“We need to stop overprescribing antibiotics now before they all become useless,” said Dr. Adhi Sharma, South Nassau’s chief medical officer, “and we have to better educate patients to change the current mindset that a pill will solve everything.”

South Nassau has driven down infection rates in part through tighter controls on the use of antibiotics in the hospital and better education of physicians, staff and patients concerning their proper use.

“Overall, it is important that patients trust their doctors,” Sharma added. “Antibiotics are not needed to cure every ailment and patients should not push for an antibiotic when they are not necessary. Physicians also need to resist giving in to requests from patients for antibiotics just to make them happy.”