UKZN academic warns against use of antibiotics to treat Covid-19 patients
Professor Essack, together with Dr Ariel Blocker and Dr Maarten van Dongen, expressed concern that the inappropriate use of antibiotics in the treatment of Covid-19 could lead to antibiotic resistance among patients.
UNIVERSITY of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) academic and the South African Research Chair in Antibiotic Resistance, Professor Sabiha Essack is calling on healthcare providers to exercise prudence if/when prescribing antibiotics to Covid-19 patients.
In a media release issued by the university’s Corporate Relations Division, Essack, together with collaborating scientists in the international AntiMicrobial Resistance (AMR) Insights ambassador network, Dr Ariel Blocker and Dr Maarten van Dongen, expressed concern that the inappropriate use of antibiotics in the treatment of Covid-19 could lead to antibiotic resistance among patients.
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Essack said that the causal relationship between inappropriate antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance is well-established in both hospital and community settings.
“It is therefore essential that all healthcare providers treating Covid-19 patients, implement diagnostic stewardship/microbial diagnostics and exercise prudence in prescribing antibiotics so as not to unintentionally exacerbate antibiotic resistance,” she warned.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), most people infected with the virus are expected to experience mild to moderate respiratory illness and recover without requiring special treatment.
Those more likely to develop serious illness include the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and cancer.
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In the absence of a specific vaccine or treatment for the virus, many healthcare providers have been prescribing anti-retrovirals, anti-malarials and antibiotics either singly or in combination to manage Covid-19 patients.
However, Essack, Blocker and Van Dongen argue that there is minimal robust evidence to support the use of such treatments.
Essack said various studies undertaken across the globe indicate the inappropriate use of antibiotics, including a single center study of 99 Covid-19 patients in Wuhan, China, where 71 per cent of patients were prescribed antibiotics despite elevated procalcitonin levels being recorded in only 6 per cent of patients and bacterial co-infection in a mere 1 per cent.
Another example she mentioned was of the first 12 Covid-19 patients in the United States who received empiric antibiotic treatment for possible secondary bacterial pneumonia in the absence of bacterial co-infection.
Referring to WHO guidelines, Essack said antibiotics did not work against viruses, only bacteria.
“Since Covid-19 is a virus, antibiotics should not be used as a means of treatment or prevention.”
Essack, Blocker and Van Dongen further endorsed the 4 Rs of antibiotic stewardship where the Right antibiotic is prescribed at the Right dose and administered at the Right time for the Right duration so as to promote rapid recovery from infection, prevent antibiotic resistance and reduce health care costs.
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