Two new bacterial infection trials are underway in Geelong to help reduce the overuse of antibiotics prescribed to treat common illnesses.
Centre for Innovation in Infectious Disease and Immunology Research (CIIDIR), a partnership between Deakin’s School of Medicine and Barwon Health, will continue to conduct trials at Geelong GP clinics.
Research fellow Dr Sajal Saha said the trials involved a finger prick or throat swab to provide immediate results on whether a patient requires antibiotics or an alternative treatment.
“The finger prick test has been trialled internationally, but we don’t have the data needed to show its effectiveness and cost-effectiveness in reducing antibiotic over prescription in Australia,” he said.
“It allows doctors to assess whether a range of common respiratory infections are the result of bacterial infections or viral infection and whether the infection is severe enough for antibiotic treatment.
“This is an important distinction because we know that too often, antibiotics are prescribed for viral illnesses that won’t respond to antibiotics and for less severe infections that don’t need antibiotics.”
Dr Saha said early results from two Geelong GP clinics found that the “simple, low-cost test” reduced antibiotic use by up to 30 per cent.
“This work is trying to improve the capacity of GPs and community pharmacists with point-of-care diagnostic testing services,” he said.
“The second test currently being trialled in five GP clinics across Geelong is a throat swab that enables doctors to confirm within minutes whether a sore throat is caused by Strep A bacteria.”
CIIDIR co-director Professor Eugene Athan said Australia was among the “highest antibiotic prescribing countries in the developed world”.
“Taking them when not needed, for longer than required or an incorrect dose causes antibiotics to become ineffective over time, a phenomenon called antimicrobial resistance (AMR),” he said.
“AMR is making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease, severe illness and deaths. It’s the cause of death for 700,000 people worldwide each year.
“Compared to national guideline recommendations, antimicrobials continue to be overprescribed in Australia, with 30 to 50 per cent of prescriptions in primary care inappropriate either in choice, dose or duration.”
