More than a third of adults in the UK either don’t know or are misinformed about antibiotics, what they can treat and when they should be taken, according to a study.
The research, conducted by healthcare company Abbott, found that 38 per cent of those surveyed wrongly believed that the typical cold, a cough, flu-like illnesses or upper respiratory tract infections were generally treatable with a course of antibiotics – despite 90 per cent of such infections being untreatable by antibiotics because they were self-limiting viral infections.
While nearly two thirds (63 per cent) say they would prefer to get antibiotics only when they were really needed, there was a current lack of awareness about them. Crucially, while 60 per cent of patients trusted their doctor’s opinion on when they needed antibiotics, 11 per cent said they would like antibiotics when they felt sick, just to be on the safe side, regardless of whether they needed them.
In the UK – where at least 20 per cent of antibiotics prescriptions written by primary care professionals are inappropriate for the ailment being treated – recent UK Health Security Agency data published indicated the growing scale of the issue, with the number of severe antibiotic-resistant infections in England rising by 2.2 per cent in 2021 compared with 2020.
Dr Aggy York, an NHS GP Urgent and Primary Care clinical lead at Heywood Middleton and Rochdale, warned: “GPs across Britain are all too well aware of the long-term challenges posed to the healthcare system by the over-prescribing of antibiotic medications. Increasing antimicrobial resistance will render some of the most treatable ailments untreatable and could significantly damage our healthcare system’s ability to help patients fight infections.”
In the survey, 30 per cent of respondents said that if they knew there was a test they could take to gauge whether they needed antibiotics, they would request this from their doctor. “If you’re worried about antimicrobial resistance, speak to your doctor," said Dr York. Such tests can help doctors quickly distinguish viral, bacterial or self-limiting respiratory infections — like bronchitis, which does not require antibiotic medicines — from severe infections like pneumonia.
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Dr York added: "Ultimately, each patient is different, and tests like this help us to make sure we find the best treatments available for all our patients.”
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