QUOTING from the 1955 Ibanez study, it states “antibiotic therapy, if indiscriminately used, may turn out to be a medicinal flood that temporarily cleans and heals, but ultimately destroys life itself.”
Such a spiel reminds not only the health professionals’ community but everyone concerned of the alarming drawbacks of indiscriminate and inappropriate use and misuse of antibiotic therapy.
Basically, antibiotics are medicines that are used to combat infections caused by bacteria; not viruses.
Collectively, antibiotics fall under the umbrella term “anti-infectives”, which includes antivirals (target viruses); antiprotozoals (target protozoa); anti-helminthics (target worms) and antifungals (target fungi). The latter three are also under the classification of anti-parasitic.
Medical literatures share that the use of anti-infectives has a long history. It dates back to 1920 when Paul Ehrlich, a natural scientist, researched on developing a synthetic chemical that would kill infection-causing cells while sparing the normal human cells in the process.
Sometime along the period, other scientists discovered penicillin, an antibiotic that was fairly effective then.
Since then, the choice of antibiotics depends largely on the type of bacteria. Each bacterium is specifically responsive to a particular antibiotic. For instance, hospital-acquired pneumonia, which is caused by “pseudomonas aeruginosa,” responds positively to “amoniglycsides” antibiotics.
To date, the most common condition that needs antibiotics is pneumonia or respiratory tract infections.
But antibiotics are no magic potion; it has its drawbacks as well.
Among the downside to antibiotic uses and misuses, the most that probably cause concern is the development of resistance. By this, it means that the causative class or species of bacterium is unresponsive to the gold standard antibiotics of choice used to fight them.
How does this resistance happen?
Literatures share that the following are conditions that promote microbial resistance to anti-infectives: 1) non-completion of the course of antibiotic therapy as prescribed by the physician as symptoms of infection begin to subside; 2) using the antibiotic beyond the course being required; 3) incorrect prescription of the antibiotics by the doctor; 4) self-medication; and 5) low-quality antibiotics.
The 2011 study of Ashley et al., claims that antibiotic resistance is likely to continue to increase in the coming decades.
But current medical research has expanded further the causes of this resistance.
The study of Goosens at al., in 2005 has suggested that antibiotic resistance may also be due to poor compliance and hand hygiene.
Meanwhile, the 2013 study by Nguyen et al., in Vietnam revealed that the heavy agricultural use of antibiotics on retail chicken and pork meats has caused resistance among those who has consumed the said meats.
On the other hand, Cosgrove in 2006 found a positive association between the longer hospital stay and the development of antibiotic resistance; thus he thought it imperative to shorten hospital confinement.
The most horrific consequence of antibiotic resistance is obvious: the patient experiencing bacterial infection will need a different class of antibiotics which is prescribed at a higher dose and cost more expensive. But this switch to a higher class of antibiotics does not guarantee eradiation of resistance as the cycle may be perpetuated for as long as the patient remains non-compliant; a less potent antibiotic is used; and the natural evolution of bacteria.
In order to combat this resistance, several evidence-based findings suggest the following: 1) use of hand sanitizers; 2) compliance to antibiotic therapy; 3) environmental cleaning to prevent spread of infection; 4) health education; 5) restriction of use of certain types of antibiotics; 6) curb overprescribing by the physician; 7) non-use of antibiotics for agricultural products; and 8) replacement of old mechanical ventilators with nosocomial infection is imminent among ICU patients on ventilators.
Perhaps the newest approach to curb antibiotic use therefore limiting the possibility of resistance is to take in Zinc.
In fact, in the recent updates on antimicrobial resistance and stewardship, Dr. Joseph Adrian Buensalido, an internist specializing in infectious diseases and a “balik-scientist” program awardee of the Department of Science and Technology, says prescribing zinc by the physician may actually reduce even the temptation to prescribe antibiotics.
In 2000, a study regarding zinc carried out by Rao and Rowland from the University of Chicago found that zinc was beneficial in reducing the severity and duration of cold symptoms.
“Zinc given with the first 24 hours from the onset of colds symptoms yielded favroble outcomes among patients with respiratory tract infections,” says Buensalido.
“When given within 2 days, the need for prolonged antibiotic use may be unnecessary,” he points out.
(Sources: Medical-Surgical Nursing; Focus on Nursing Pharmacology; Pathophysiology)