Illogical use of antibiotics leads to high morbidity and mortality rates

Rawalpindi : The incidences of seasonal infections have been registering a sharp increase since the advent of winter in this region of the country and according to health experts, the high morbidity and mortality rates among patients suffering from various infective illnesses are due to illogical use of antibiotics.

Medically, it is proven that the illogical use of antibiotics without proper diagnosis is one of the main factors for the emergence of bacterial resistance to many antibiotics and it leads to a greater number of serious complications and even deaths among patients. Experts say that to minimise losses and to reduce morbidity and mortality rates among patients suffering from various infective illnesses, the practice of self-medication and the use of antibiotics without proper diagnosis must be checked religiously. A number of infectious illnesses cannot be well managed even with high doses of toxic antibiotics mainly because of ever increasing drug resistance among the population, said Principal Rawalpindi Medical College and In-charge Allied Hospitals Professor Dr. Jahangir Sarwar Khan while talking to ‘The News’ on Friday.

He added that the high morbidity rates and the recurrent exposures to infections are due to self medication and unnecessary use of antibiotics. Among immune-compromised patients and elderly population, the patients may suffer from dire consequences because of poor response to certain antibiotics and it happens mainly because of a history of excessive, unnecessary and poorly managed use of antibiotics, he said.

He added that over the counter sale of antibiotics without any prescription from a qualified doctor adds misery to the lives of poor patients as the majority of these patients are unaware of the proper use of certain antibiotics. It is generally witnessed that a patient takes one or two doses of some antibiotic and as soon as the recovery starts, he or she stops the medicine without completing the prescribed course of the medicine that results in resistance, said Professor Jahangir.

It is important that the situation is leading Pakistan to a critical state by bearing well over 90 per cent burden of infectious diseases. Studies reveal that Pakistan is among the top 10 countries which bear such a high burden of infectious illnesses.

Professor Jahangir said to minimise the losses because of drug resistance, there is a need to change approach for diagnosis and treatment of infections and for that diagnosis based upon serological tests and accurate drug sensitivity results is needed. Patients should not use antibiotics on their own, instead they must undergo a proper checkup for accurate diagnosis and should follow advice from a qualified doctor, he said. Bacterial and mycobacterial cultures can be defined as primary diagnostic methods used as tools to determine the cause of infectious diseases and to look for the bacteria that cause tuberculosis and similar infections. It is important that experts have been stressing upon the need of changes required in the diagnostic and management approach for various infective illnesses to reduce the morbidity and mortality rates for years though not much has yet been done on the subject.

Experts say that serological tests for the confirmatory diagnosis of any infective illness can be termed as a gold standard and if done in combination with culture and sensitivity, both can be very beneficial to identify the drug of choice for an infection and the practice would certainly reduce the financial burden imposed by prescription of excessive or wrong medicines and help control infectious diseases.