Lethal antibiotics: Alarm!

In the working session with the Department of Therapy - Ministry of Health last week, pharmacist Nguyen Xuan Cam, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, warned the situation that bacteria is no longer sensitive to antibiotics (antibiotic resistance) currently. alarm level, 70% - 85%, even resistance up to 90%!

An examination of the upper respiratory tract at Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC)

Dr. Nguyen Thi Hanh Le, Deputy Director of Hospital (BV) Children 2 (Ho Chi Minh City), said that many patients in the Department of resuscitation had died due to resistance to some existing antibiotics. . A recent study by Children's Hospital 2 on antibiotic sensitivity showed that the majority of bacteria isolated such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter, Escherichia Coli (E.Coli) . were resistant or very sensitive. low for Ampicilin antibiotics (particularly E.Coli bacteria not only resistant to one but many antibiotics).

A survey in 2005 and 2006 of the National Hospital of Pediatrics also showed that the prevalence of E.Coli strains with high resistance to Ampicilin (95%), Trimethoprim-sulphamethoxasol (85%) Chloramphenicol (65%) and Nalidixic acid ( forty six%). Previously, Trimethoprim-sulphamethoxasol was considered the first choice in the treatment of dysentery, now it is almost not applicable in the treatment of this disease anymore!

Losing money, dying because of drug abuse

According to Dr. Hanh Le, for patients who have been resistant to many antibiotics, they must use stronger antibiotics to be effective. But strong antibiotics often have a very high price, several hundred thousand dong a bottle, use a few vials a day, not to mention serious illnesses, they must also be used in combination with other antibiotics, up to 1-2 million dong / day, one chi The charge is too big for many people.

Doctor Tang Chi Thuong, Director of Children's Hospital 1 (Ho Chi Minh City), said the human body always has resident bacteria in the throat, intestines . so if using antibiotics incorrectly, medicine also sensitive to bacteria. If you want to be treated, you will need to take more antibiotics.

Just like that, at some point there will be no medicine to kill the bacteria, the patient is at risk of death. Currently, the world is worried that S.Aureus bacteria (staphylococcus aureus) cause blood infections, myositis, pneumonia that is resistant to many antibiotics. Thuong said that S.Aureus is now only sensitive to a single antibiotic, Vancomycin. If this antibiotic is ignored, doctors will give up!

At the doctor, at the patient

Through studies on the level of drug resistance as well as experience in the treatment process, experts commented that the status of antibiotic resistance is on the rise. There are many causes for this condition, as doctors like to " beat fast, win fast " so they have prescribed strong antibiotics while the disease can be treated with more mild types.

Another cause of drug resistance is that patients have a habit of buying medicine home by themselves, taking incorrect doses, preferring to use heavy and expensive drugs without knowing what the causative agent is. Dr. Tang Chi Thuong said antibiotics only work to treat bacterial diseases, but the disease can be caused by viruses or bacteria. In some cases, the disease is caused by the virus, but a few days after the disease becomes severe, the infection becomes more infected with bacteria. However, it is not the case, so many doctors have psychological ' would rather fight wrong than give up. survived ', using antibiotics to prevent anything . get better!

But ' say it must also be said again ', a long-time infection specialist in the profession said many patients also have the mentality of using expensive antibiotics, so when seeing a prescribing doctor without antibiotics, immediately responded: ' No antibiotic, why can't it be ' For this reason, some doctors with private clinics now use powerful antibiotics to ' suck ' . patients. Seeing that the medicine was finished right away, they were satisfied, and they whispered to each other and rushed to the examination, knowing that this treatment would only bring about harm as the drug quickly became ignored.

Thuy Duong