A new study suggest that treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam, a broad spectrum antibiotic that kills commensal anerobic bacteria in the gut, instead of cefepime may contribute to one additional death per every 20 septic patients treated. Increased duration of organ dysfunction results too. This is another example of physician ineptitude in their over prescribing and poor choice of antibiotics.
Physicians overprescribe antibiotics leading to numerous pathologies in their patients, including inflammatory disorders.
A recent clinical trial compared two antibiotics and their side effects and mortality after two weeks. That trial did not find any differences in the short term, meaning that both antibiotics controlled the patient’s infection. When looking at two-week outcomes in the study, they didn’t find differences either. But the differences at three months were dramatic. The new findings suggest that treatment with piperacillin/tazobactam instead of cefepime may contribute to one additional death per every 20 septic patients treated, and also create more organ dysfunction.
A 5% mortality difference has enormous implications because sepsis in hospital is so common. Every day in the USA, thousands of clinicians are deciding which of these drugs to use in septic patients. Why on Earth would physicians choose an antibiotic that wipes-out the good bacteria in the gut? This is another example of physicians causing disease, which they do often.
Commensal bacteria in the gut are critical for health. Diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, bowel inflammatory disease and difficult-to-treat bacterial infections due to antibiotic resistance have been linked with dysbiosis. Using broad spectrum antibiotics instead of more targeted antibiotics, and using antibiotics only when they are truly needed, will save lives and reduce the number of people maimed by the poor prescribing habits of physicians.
Stem Cells, Health, Technology 