Use of antibacterials in community is weakly linked to resistance

Substantial differences in rates of prescribing of antibacterial drugs among general practices are associated with only small differences in resistance, an analysis of routine laboratory samples has found. Priest and colleagues (p 1037) analysed prescribing patterns and resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae and urinary coliforms for 405 practices in England. Although they found a weak correlation between prescribing and resistance for urinary coliforms there was no clear relation for pneumococci. The authors say that government efforts to reduce overall antibacterial prescribing in general practice may not be the best way to reduce resistance in the community.

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Relevant Article

Antibacterial prescribing and antibacterial resistance in English general practice: cross sectional study • Commentary: antibiotic resistance is a dynamic process

Patricia Priest, Patricia Yudkin, Cliodna McNulty, David Mant, and Richard Wise
BMJ 2001 323: 1037-1041. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]