Resistance to medicineson rise, Govt urges docs to mention reason when prescribing antibiotics

The letter urged medical colleges to set an example of judicious use of antibiotics for the next generation of doctors.

The letter, also sent to the association of pharmacists, reiterated the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which specify that antimicrobials should be sold only on prescription from a registered medical practitioner.
Antimicrobials are listed under Schedule H and H1 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, both of which are categories of medicines that cannot be sold without a prescription.

The records of sale of Schedule H1 drugs — which include third and fourth generation antimicrobials — have to be maintained for a period of three years.

“Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials is one of the main drivers in development of drug resistant pathogens. With few new antibiotics in the research and development pipeline, prudent antibiotic use is the only option to delay the development of resistance…. Looking forward to your support to promote judicious use of antimicrobials to reduce emergence of resistance,” both the letters read.

This comes on the heels of a recent survey by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) which showed that 71.9% of the patients coming to tertiary care hospitals were prescribed antibiotics. And, more than half of these prescriptions were not to treat an infection but administered as prophylaxis (preventive) before procedures and surgeries.

“Such a high level of prophylactic use of antibiotics is concerning. While it is not recommended, many physicians prescribe antibiotics to people with viral infection to prevent a supra-added bacterial infection. And, when it comes to surgeons, almost everyone prescribes antibiotics for as long as 15 days. This is because they are so scared that their patients will get an infection, but (this) needs to be avoided,” Dr Purva Mathur, professor of microbiology and part of the hospital infection control team at the trauma centre of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, told Indian Express previously.