1 in 10 antibiotic prescriptions fail, according to new research

One in 10 antibiotic prescriptions ‘fail,’ according to 20-year study by Cardiff University in Wales. The researchers set out to assess the treatment failure rates in UK primary care, focusing on upper respiratory tract infections, lower respiratory tract infections, skin and soft tissue infections and acute otitis media.

The research showed that between 1991 and 2012, overall antibiotic treatment failures rose from 13.9% in 1991 to 15.4% in 2012, indicating an increase of 12%. In this period, however, treatment for lower respiratory tract infections was the least successfully-treated of all infection classes, showing an increased failure rate of 35%.

Failure rates high in trimethoprim