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Adult nursing
Population cohort study finds high levels of antibiotic use increase the chances of infection-related hospital admissions
  1. Nicole Zhang
  1. Nursing, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York, USA
  1. Correspondence to Professor Nicole Zhang, Nursing, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York, USA; zhangn{at}hartwick.edu

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Commentary on: van Staa TP, Palin V, Li Y, et al. The effectiveness of frequent antibiotic use in reducing the risk of infection-related hospital admissions: results from two large population-based cohorts. BMC Med 2020;18:40. doi: 10.1186/s12916-020-1504-5.

Implications for practice and research

  • There is little evidence for the use of repeat antibiotic treatment in primary care.

  • The repeated use of antibiotics may have limited benefits to clients and can lead to adverse outcomes such as infection-related hospital admissions.

  • Antibiotic usage should be minimised when possible and antibiotics should only be used for common infections within recommended guidelines.

Context

Research has established that individuals prescribed frequent antibiotic treatment have an increased likelihood of developing antimicrobial resistance (AMR).1 There are numerous negative consequences of AMR and attributable deaths.2 …

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Footnotes

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.