A Research Report On Pediatric Nursing

In the last decade, the number of prescriptions for antibiotics has increases. Even though, antibiotics are helpful, an excess amount of antibiotics can be dangerous. Quite often antibiotics are wrongly prescribed to cure viruses when they are meant to target bacteria. Antibiotics are a type of medicine that is prone to kill microorganisms, or bacteria. By examining the PBS documentary Hunting the Nightmare Bacteria and the article “U.S. government taps GlaxoSmithKline for New Antibiotics” by Ben Hirschler as well as a few other articles can help depict the problem that is of doctors prescribing antibiotics wrongly or excessively, which can led to becoming harmful to the body.

Fleming in 1928. Penicillin helped to treat some common infections: step throat, boils, it would heal wounds quicker, as well as treat more serious infections such as meningitis and pneumonia. Antibiotics usually kill only weak bacteria and after some years of antibiotic usage stronger bacteria have not only survived but also became resistant to the old cure. “Doctors have started to prescribe antibiotics to cure conditions such as ear infections, sinusitis, bronchitis, non-specific upper respiratory tract infections and even common colds and flu… According to the Director of Antimicrobial Resistance, Dr. Richard Besser, each year US physicians write $50 million worth of prescriptions that are ineffectual and unnecessary.” (Elisa Bussey). The more doctors were prescribing antibiotics, the bigger the number of people who become resistant to them. Most of the European countries prescribe antibiotics to kill bacteria only in cases of life threatening conditions. Patients in the US have become accustomed to receiving antibiotics for almost any health concerns and with time, patients have started to expect such prescriptions as a norm.

Antibiotics are inarguably one of the greatest advances in medical science of the past century. Although the first natural antibiotic Penicillin was not discovered until 1928 by Scottish biologist Alexander Flemming, evidence exists that certain plant and mold growths were used to treat infections in ancient Egypt, ancient India, and classical Greece (Forrest, 1982). In our modern world with the advent of synthetic chemistry synthetic antibiotics like Erithromycin and its derivative Azithromycin have been developed. Antibiotics have many uses including the treatment of bacterial and protozoan infection, in surgical operations and prophylactically to prevent the development of an infection. Through these applications, antibiotics have saved countless lives across the world and radically altered the field of medicine. Though a wonderful and potentially lifesaving tool, antibiotic use is not without its disadvantages. Mankind has perhaps been too lax in regulation and too liberal in application of antibiotics and growing antibiotic resistance is the price we must now pay. A recent study showed that perhaps 70% of bacterial infections acquired during hospital visits in the United States are resistant to at least one class of antibiotic (Leeb, 2004). Bacteria are not helpless and their genetic capabilities have allowed them to take advantage of society’s overuse of antibiotics, allowing them to develop

Antibiotic resistance is becoming a more prevalent issue. This is a growing dilemma because, not only do patients have the potential to develop resistance, but they also can transmit the resistant bacteria to others (McKellar, 2014). Additionally, it is estimated that over one-third of all antibiotics prescribed to patients are unnecessary (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Overutilization of antibiotics is a growing problem due to some patients’ inappropriate demands for antibiotics or misdiagnoses by prescribers, however, underutilization of antibiotics can be just as problematic. Physicians are trained to use good antimicrobial stewardship when prescribing antibiotics; only giving them to patients who truly do have a bacterial infection. This becomes an issue when providers are too cautious and do not prescribe antibiotics in an attempt not to contribute to antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, this caution could have a detrimental effect on the health of patients who actually need the antibiotics. To combat this issue, we must find a balance between good antimicrobial stewardship to minimize resistance while also taking underutilization into consideration. We, as pharmacists, are at a unique position between the physician and

The world has seen many changes throughout its time. From the dinosaurs, to people habiting earth, the population growing rapidly, and the invention of medicine, the earth has gone through a lot. Civilization has always found ways to survive, natural disasters, plagues, wars, and attacks. Somehow the human race has always come out on top. A great, eye opening discovery for the world has been antibiotics. With these new found drugs the population has been able to survive sicknesses and live decades longer, than the ones that came before. Imagine dying from a simple cold because of no medicine. Only with all great things, there is always the negative. Society seems to rely on the fast and easy way out, and that is what antibiotics allow. Unfortunately,

Antibiotics are a powerful medication that fights bacterial infection. Antibiotics can save lives. Antibiotics specifically treat infections caused by bacteria, such as Staph., Strep., or E. coli., and either kill the bacteria or keep it from reproducing and growing (2016, L. Anderson, PharmD). Your body's natural defenses can usually take it from there. Antibiotics are specific for the type of bacteria being treated and in general, cannot be interchanged from one infection to other. Antibiotics are not the correct choice for all infection. Antibiotics can not fight infection caused by viruses such as cold, flu, coughs, sore throats, or acute sinusitis. Antibiotic penicillin in the 1920s made a big impact on human history. Not only did it lead

Antibiotics have been an important instrument in public health since 1928, saving the lives of people around the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015), about half of antibiotics used in human and animals are unnecessarily and inappropriately prescribed, leading to the emergence of drug resistance in bacteria (CDC, 2015). The CDC estimates that drug-resistant bacteria cause two million illnesses and approximately 23,000 deaths each year in the United States alone (2015).

Throughout history disease has run rampant taking many lives with every passing day. Finding a cure or even just a tool in the battle has been the main focus of scientist throughout time. This focus is what brought us the discovery of antibiotics. Over the years antibiotics have been misused by patients, over prescribed by physicians and have led to resistant strains of bacteria.

Antibiotics are prescribed at more than 100 million adult ambulatory care visits annually, and 41% of these prescriptions are for respiratory conditions. However, this is not typically the best treatment and increase the chances of negative effects such as antibiotic resistance, increased cost, and adverse effects. Antibiotics are also responsible for the largest number of medication-related adverse events, implicated in 1 of every 5 visits to emergency departments for adverse drug reactions. The reasoning for this comes from determining if the respiratory infection is bacterial or viral. Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections and have no use.

My final week on the pediatric ward was great minus minor hiccups. The patient is C.C 11/12 months old who was admitted on Tuesday 7th November and diagnosis with acute gastroenteritis. The patient was taken over standing in bed with 0.5% dextrose/ 0.2 N/S in progress on the left hand, no redness or swelling around the site.

In comparison these articles provide evidence on how the overuse of antibiotics contribute the development of drug resistant organisms and ways that this can be avoided. The settings of where these studies were conducted were in a variety of settings hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. These studies were conducted in different countries and states, this shows that the overuse/misuse of antibiotics contribute to multidrug resistant infections.

The phenomenon of antibiotic resistance occurs when bacterial organisms can resist – via several different avenues – the harmful effects of antibiotic drugs, which ultimately results in a selective advantage that is not shared amongst the remainder of the population that is still susceptible to the effects of the drugs. There are numerous ways that bacteria are known to show resistance to antibiotics. Some bacteria can modify the chemical nature of the drug, making it ineffective, and yet some possess a different form of target site that the drug is not compatible with, which inhibits the drug’s ability to bind to the bacterial cell. When coupled with prevalent antibiotic use amongst human populations, these acquired mechanisms of resistance can be selectively advantageous to the bacteria in possession of them. Being resistant to one or more antibiotic drugs means that these bacteria can survive and pass on their genes for resistance to their offspring, which can have negative effects on human populations, especially in the healthcare setting. Antibiotic resistance has garnered much attention in recent years across the developed world, as pathogenic microbes become resistant to more and more antibiotics thanks to both the overuse and misuse of these drugs. The increased frequency of which this problem has

Incorrect prescription of antibiotics contributes to the promotion of resistant bacteria. The use of antibiotics is the primary driver of antibiotic resistance. According to Borish Lushniak (2014) Surgeon General’s Perspectives, studies have revealed that the choice of agent, treatment indication, or duration of antibiotic therapy can be incorrectly prescribed 30% to 50% of cases. In relation to this, the study of Charles-Edourd Luyt and colleagues (2014) Antibiotic stewardship in the intensive care unit, states that 30% to 60% of prescribed antibiotics in intensive care units (ICUs) have found to be inappropriate, suboptimal and unnecessary. According to Christopher Ohl and Vera Luther (2011) Antimicrobial stewardship for inpatient facilities, antibiotics are often used for longer-than-recommended durations or for the treatment of contaminating or colonizing microorganisms. When inappropriate prescriptions of antibiotics are taken which includes unnecessary usage, the individual patients are exposed to potential complications of antibiotic therapy without any therapeutic

Dr. H. Scott Hurd author of, “The Other Side of Antimicrobial Resistance” is writing to contradict thought that antibiotic-resistance is becoming a complete global threat. (2012) the article gives several counter claims that lead you in a different mindset than simply healthcare precautions. The author talks about foodborne illness being linked to antibiotics resistance in modern medicine, also about the important knowledge that can be taken away from antibiotics when researching HIV/AIDS, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), and hospital-acquired infections through research and development. The author is showing the readers that there is another side, such as, not needing to be concerned about resistance to any antibiotics because scientist and others have an understanding of certain guidelines when it comes to the patients’ health. Therefore, each excuse people are giving to support the claim antibiotic-resistance is a threat to people. He states in his writing, “As soon as an antibiotic is first used, resistance begins to develop.” He is wanting to imply in his message that even though over-prescribing is a big factor, even as simple as the first time an antibiotic is prescribed it is having effects on the patient. However, according to the Mayo Clinic, in “Antibiotics: Misuse puts you and others at risk” infers the overuse or misuse of antibacterial drugs can make resistance develop even faster, causing an epidemic before scientist can find a solution.

Antibiotics are the key drugs for treatment of infections and are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in Pediatrics department. Their indiscriminate use increases the risk of bacterial drug resistance and thus has prompted the need to use antibiotics judiciously in pediatric practice [1]. The prescribing pattern deals with monitoring, evaluating and suggesting modifications in the prescribing pattern, so as to make patient care safe, effective and cost effective [2]. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed to treat various infectious conditions. Several studies reported that 50% to 85% of children receive antibiotics in developed and developing countries. Rational antibiotic prescription is very important to avoid multiple drug resistance,