Three things to know when deciding if it’s time to get off antibiotics

A study recently published in The BMJ, formally known as the British Medical Journal, makes an argument that challenges the conventional wisdom of taking antibiotics. Instead of finishing a prescription, the scientists suggest stopping use of the antibiotics when you feel better.

The argument is this will slow the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria. The study says the old advice of “complete the course of antibiotics” is not supported by evidence.

READ MORE: You don’t have to finish your course of antibiotics, British docs suggest. Here’s why

Casey Phillips is the lead pharmacist with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR) Antimicrobial Stewardship Team, and works closely with family doctors and infectious disease specialists on strategies on how best to prescribe antibiotics.

“It’s actually a very interesting article, and it’s not really a new idea, that shorter courses of antibiotics can be effective,” he said.

He said antibiotic resistant bacteria is an issue RQHR takes very seriously, but this suggestion is not a “one size fits all” approach.

So, here three some key points to keep in mind if you are taking antibiotics:

Stopping an antibiotic course too early

The over-use of antibiotics can lead to the creation of antibiotic resistant bacteria, but undertreating can have the same effect.

“This causes a lot of difficulty if the patient actually becomes infected with that resistant bacteria, it’s a much harder infection to treat, and it’s also something they can spread throughout their community,” Phillips explained.

What is antibiotic resistant bacteria?

As the name suggests, this bacteria causes an infection that is tougher to eradicate with conventional antibiotics.

“It’s something that has been able to be tracked overtime, and we can see that antibiotics are becoming less and less effective because more bacteria is becoming antibiotic resistant,” Phillips said.

He added that these are the kinds of infections you may hear referred to as “superbugs”. It’s more than just a name; there’s real danger involved.

“If this trend continues where we have more and more antibiotic resistance, we effectively run out of our ability to treat infections that we know could end up causing mortality,” he said.

This could include highly infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, which would be devastating to communities.

“There are reports that if we continue this current trend that by 2050 we’ll have deaths from these deaths from these types of infection surpassing things like cancer, diabetes, and other disease states that we consider quite severe,” Phillips said.

Different types of infection

There are many different types of infection that can be caused by bacteria, which require antibiotics. Each different infection requires a different course of antibiotics.

For certain infections, doctors have been shortening the course.

“For example, something like bladder infections, that typically in the past were treated for seven days or longer in some cases, with specific kinds of antibiotics you can actually go down to a three day treatment of a five day treatment,” Phillips explained.

“There is a lot of evidence out there already to shorten that duration of treatment.”

However, patients who have issues with their immune system, like cancer patients, a longer antibiotic course is likely required.

“If you’re also treating a resistant bug you want to make sure you’re treating it until you get rid of it,” Phillips said.

If you are on antibiotics and feel well enough that you might be able to get off them, Phillips said it would be best to talk with your doctor or a health professional first.

For the time being, Phillips said this study gives health professionals a lot of things to think about.

“I think there will be some changes down the road with how we do antibiotics and how we determine the best duration,” he said.

However, he said it could take some time before these ideas enter the field.