Are Antibiotics Needed for Common Throat Infections?
Keywords:
Pharyngitis, Tonsillitis, Isolates, Antibiotics, ResistanceAbstract
Objective
Ever fuelling antibiotic use and resulting resistance is still prevalent in our society most commonly prescribed for throat infections. However community acquired throat infections are known to be caused mostly by viruses, therefore it was of interest to determine the incidence of bacterial species grown from infected throats and whether the character of these isolates indicated antibiotic intervention to control ever increasing antibiotic resistances.
Design
Prospective Study.
Place and Duration
At a private Lab and Diagnostic Centre, Karachi, Pakistan during Jan 2010 to July 2011.
Method
The isolates from 362 patients of all ages presenting with RTI were cultured and identified using standard protocol. Antibiotic sensitivity of these isolates was checked using 23 drugs and the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method at a private lab in Karachi. In addition, to know the perspective of ENT specialists regarding the antibiotic resistance, rate of their prescriptions and the drugs they prescribe, 30 questionnaires were also collected.
Results
Among the 362 isolates Pneumococci were most commonly seen (35.34%) followed by Staphylococcus aureus (23.01%) and notable Klebsiella pneumoniae (14.5%). The ENT physicians interviewed commonly prescribed any of 20 antibiotics, most often Amoxicillin, Amoxiclav or even the injectables Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone for pharyngitis. In our study, among others, the isolates were most sensitive to Cefotaxime (91.2%),
Conclusion
Pneumococci and Staphylococci were most often isolated from infected throats; these were likely part of residential flora accompanying infecting respiratory viruses, the drug therapy was hence superfluous and essentially harmful.
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