STEPS need to be taken to better monitor antibiotic use in residential aged care facilities, with high rates of inappropriate use of medicines identified in the sector by researchers from Macquarie University.
The systematic review and meta-analysis of antibiotic use in aged care facilities across 34 countries between 1985 and 2019, found almost 70% of Australian aged care residents received an antibiotic over the course of a year, compared with 54% in the UK and 63% of patients in North America and the Netherlands.
Macquarie University Australian Institute of Health Innovation Senior Research Fellow, Dr Magda Raban, said the analysis showed only 28.5% of antibiotic courses prescribed in residential aged care in Australia and overseas were deemed to be appropriate.
"Antibiotics should only be given if the patient has symptoms consistent with an infection requiring antibiotic treatment," Raban said.
"There are clear guidelines for the use of antibiotics and the data suggests that people in Australian residential aged care facilities are being prescribed antibiotics too often."
Raban warned inappropriate use of antibiotics was a key contributor to increasing antimicrobial resistance, and called for measures to be implemented to boost medication management in the aged care sector.
"Using current systems, some aged care facilities find it difficult to monitor what medication their residents are taking, for how long, and if it is appropriate," she said.
"By linking IT systems, we can provide real time data that alerts a facility if a patient is taking antibiotics when their condition does not warrant this."
The meta-analysis was published in Plos One.
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