Shorter courses of antibiotics for many common bacterial infections can be just as effective and safer than traditional week-long treatments, challenging widespread public beliefs about how to take the medication.
The findings, published in the medical journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases, counter the common view that patients must always complete a lengthy prescription even if their symptoms improve.
Antibiotics are medicines that fight infections caused by bacteria in humans and animals by either killing the bacteria or making it difficult for them to grow and multiply. They are not effective against viral infections.
Open Forum Infectious Diseases is a peer-reviewed journal published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America, focusing on the intersection of biomedical science and clinical practice.
Public perception of treatment
Researchers surveyed 1,475 adults about their views on antibiotic treatments. The study found that roughly 60 percent of the participants preferred a course of antibiotics lasting at least seven days, while 88 percent believed a prescribed course must always be finished completely.
Additionally, 63 percent of the respondents thought that longer treatments were more effective, and 61.5 percent considered them to be safer.
Evaluating treatment lengths
The study authors noted that over 120 randomized trials in recent years have demonstrated that short antibiotic courses often perform just as well as lengthy ones for various common bacterial infections.
The researchers said that shorter treatments do not increase the risk of developing antibiotic resistance.
Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve to evade the drugs designed to kill them, making infections much harder to treat. The frequent prescribing of antibiotics is known to accelerate the spread of these resistant bacteria.
Public health organizations worldwide consider antibiotic resistance a major threat to global health, warning that it leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs, and increased mortality.
Medical supervision required
Despite the findings supporting shorter treatments, the researchers stressed that patients should not reduce their prescribed courses on their own.
The appropriate duration of therapy depends on the specific infection, the medication being used, and the individual patient's health condition. Because of this, the decision on treatment length must remain with a doctor, the researchers said.
They clarified that the study does not endorse a rule of stopping medication as soon as a patient feels better. Instead, it indicates that doctors can initially prescribe modern treatment regimens that are shorter than those used in the past.
