Despite warnings, children still overprescribed antibiotics

Researchers at Seattle Children’s Hospital examined past studies between 2001 and 2011 to see how doctors treated common childhood respiratory infections. They found that 27.4 percent of the infections were caused by bacteria but that a whopping 57 percent of them were actually treated with antibiotics. That amounts to 11.4 million unnecessary prescriptions for antibiotics per year, researchers say. Antibiotics are no good against viral infections and have only been shown to work against bacterial infections.

It’s OK to ask your physician, ‘Why are you prescribing an antibiotic for my son-daughter?’

lead study author Matthew Kronman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Seattle Children’s Hospital

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the top pediatrician’s group in the United States, has periodically issued guidelines on the use of antibiotics in kids, but the demands of parents, as well as difficulties doctors face in quickly distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections, still fuels the trend. Experts not involved with the research said their big fear is that they will eventually have no treatment options for superbugs. An estimated 2 million Americans are infected with antibiotic-resistant organisms, resulting in 23,000 deaths each year, according to a 2013 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

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