40 per cent of Albertans prescribed antibiotics that are ‘not appropriate’: UCalgary study

A new study out of the University of Calgary shows nearly 40 per cent of adult Albertans receive prescriptions for antibiotics which are “never appropriate.”

The authors, from The School of Public Policy, say the data examines the “critical issue” and provides “solid” recommendations for the government to follow in order to avoid a “post-antibiotic” world.

In Canada, the majority of antibiotics are prescribed outside of hospitals by family doctors and other members of primary care teams, the report explains.

These “community-written” prescriptions make up 90 per cent of the total volume of prescribed antibiotics in Alberta, it adds.

The data shows more than 56 per cent of adults in the province who were prescribed oral antibiotics from primary care teams. Around 40 per cent of these were identified as “never appropriate” in the new research.

Inappropriate use of antibiotics contributes to the increase of anti-microbial resistance, which happens when germs adapt, and become immune to antibiotics.

This heightens the risk of entering a “post-antibiotic era” where surgeries currently considered to be routine will be impossible as relatively minor infections become uncontrollable.

Related Stories:

• Donated human milk could be antibiotic for infants: UCalgary

• Antibiotic repurposed to combat depression: UCalgary study

The authors say national and provincial responses to the threat of anti-microbial resistance have focused on monitoring the rise of resistant germs and improving the prescribing of antibiotics by doctors and their use by patients. As part of the fight against resistance, effort has been made to examine whether prescriptions are appropriate or not.

Figuring out whether or not a drug is appropriate involves “matching the disease a prescriber is treating when they write a subscription with the potential effectiveness of an antibiotic,” the study says.

An example of an inappropriate match would be an individual with a sprained ankle getting a prescription for an antibiotic.

Researchers have developed a standard approach to matching the 13,000 possible diagnostic codes for injuries and diseases with an ‘always,’ ‘potentially,’ or ‘never’ appropriate designation for antibiotics.

The new data shows how community-based prescribers in Alberta fared when their diagnoses were matched to dispensed antibiotic prescriptions in the three years leading up to the pandemic.

With numbers showing prescriptions in the province aren’t up to par — the researchers say policy makers will likely need to recalibrate their approaches and invest in stewardship programming.

Possible options to consider include restrictions on community-based prescribing and audit programs to increase accountability on the prescriber, researchers say.