WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) – Researchers in Boston have disproved their own hypothesis that underuse of anti-inflammatory medications by asthmatics is related to overprescription of antibiotics. They found just the opposite: antibiotic use by asthmatic members of a health maintenance organization was directly associated with their level of consumption of asthma medication.
Dr. James H. Glauber of Children's Hospital and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of 7310 asthmatic adults and children who had been continuously enrolled in an HMO for at least 12 months. The results are published in the November issue of Chest.
The researchers found that high users of bronchodilators (more than eight canister equivalents per person-year) received 1.72 antibiotics per person-year and low users (zero to five canister equivalents per person-year) received 1.23 (p < 0.0001). Furthermore, long-term users of anti-inflammatory agents received 1.85 antibiotics per person-year versus 0.95 for those not receiving such agents (p < 0.0001).
It cannot be determined from the data whether the increased antibiotic use reflects suboptimal asthma control and overuse of antibiotics, Dr. Glauber and associates acknowledge.
But they point out that "given the dramatic global increases in asthma prevalence and microbial antibiotic resistance, the potential public-health impact of increased antibiotic use among subgroups of asthmatics is substantial. Heightened attention is warranted to define the appropriate role of antibiotics in the management of asthma."
Chest 2001;120:1485-1492.
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