Essay Sample on Antibiotic Overuse and its Effects

Introduction

Antibiotics have been developed to kill pathogenic bacteria. Today, all over the world, antibiotics substances are found in almost every product including antibacterial soaps, and wipes. There is over use of antibiotics which has led to the evolution of antibiotic resistance strains however this can be prevented.

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The overuse of a combinational broad-spectrum antibiotic (piperacillin and tazobactam; PT), commonly known as Tazocin, in empirical treatment of gut and respiratory infections has resulted in its reduced treatment efficacy (Vazquez-Guillamet MC et al., 2017; Mathews, 2017). Hence, higher dosages of the same drug or a drug switch is required in order to treat infections arising from the causative micro-organisms and other related organisms such as those causing gonorrhea, which is the second most commonly reported infectious disease in the U.S (Zaman et al., 2017). Needless to say, a rise in infectious rates arising from the micro-organisms commonly treated with PT has been in observed, as other healthcare related infections continue to drop. This has been linked to previous overuse of the said drug within clinical settings and nursing homes.

Its overuse has resulted in emergence and dissemination of resistance among susceptible bacterial pathogens due to genetic alteration and mutagenesis within the bacteria (Zaman et al., 2017). As a result, bacterial changes in genes and its rate of transmissibility increased through natural selection when these antibiotics fail to halt its replication while removing other drug-sensitive competitors.

Judicious use of the drug within the clinical setting by providing optimal therapeutic doses or not treating asymptomatic infections which in some considerable proportions had no effect after treatment (Islam et al., 2018). Alternatively, use of laboratory investigations to assess drug susceptibility and bacterial genetic variations may be used prior to offering treatment .The decrease in antibiotic use in hygiene and alternative use of UV radiation or bleach products to decontaminate hospitals and washing of hands. The introduction of antibiotic use guidelines by reputable international bodies such as WHO to set universal rules and regulations on antibiotic use.

It is necessary for a standardized clinical antibiotic use guideline formulation and adherence monitoring since congruent international management guidelines for daily antibiotic practice are not available. Yet, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, we have dumped increasing amounts of organic and inorganic toxins into streams, rivers, oceans, land, and air. In the personal care industry, there are insufficient guidelines for monitoring the home hygiene products which are likely to cause more risk for resistance because these products contain a high concentration of antibacterial ingredients. This worsening the already existing clinical antibiotic overuse that may lead to further bacterial resistance.

Conclusion

Independent governmental organizations with concurrent international bodies' oversight, so as to have a universally accepted guideline. The nature of private sector regulation may not be objective and maybe profit oriented rather than the well-being of the people.

I would ask her not to fill the prescription first and ask for bacterial culture and drug sensitivity to be performed prior to initiating treatment. This is because most flu/ cold infections are commonly associated with viral infections and use of antibiotics would not be necessary furthering bacterial resistance.

References

Islam, J., Ashiru-Oredope, D., Budd, E., Howard, P., Walker, A. S., Hopkins, S., & Llewelyn, M. J. (2018). A national quality incentive scheme to reduce antibiotic overuse in hospitals: evaluation of perceptions and impact. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Mathews K, Hospital SV. Drilling Down to Defeat Clostridium difficile Participation In This Webinar. 2017.

Vazquez-Guillamet MC, Vazquez R, Micek ST, Kollef MH. Predicting Resistance to Piperacillin-Tazobactam, Cefepime and Meropenem in Septic Patients With Bloodstream Infection Due to Gram-Negative Bacteria. Clin Infect Dis. 2017;65(10):1607-1614. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cid/cix612.

Zaman, S. B., Hussain, M. A., Nye, R., Mehta, V., Mamun, K. T., & Hossain, N. (2017). A review on antibiotic resistance: Alarm bells are ringing. Cureus, 9(6).