Experts Back Shorter Antibiotic Courses After 120 Trials, as 90% Still Favor Finishing Every Pill
Updated
Updated · Nautilus · Aug 17
Experts Back Shorter Antibiotic Courses After 120 Trials, as 90% Still Favor Finishing Every Pill
3 articles · Updated · Nautilus · Aug 17
Summary
More than 120 randomized trials reviewed over 25 years found shorter antibiotic courses worked as well as longer ones for infections including UTIs and pneumonia.
Longer exposure can increase selective pressure for resistant bacteria, experts said, undercutting the long-standing advice that every prescribed pill must be taken to prevent resistance.
A new Open Forum Infectious Diseases survey of more than 1,400 adults found nearly 90% still believe it is always best to finish a full antibiotic course, and about 60% preferred longer treatment for pneumonia.
Doctors are seen as key to shifting that view by explaining that antibiotic guidance is evolving with evidence rather than relying on simple finish-the-course messaging dating back to the 1940s.