A new study by researchers at Salt Lake City-based University of Utah School of Medicine set out to highlight the environmental costs that come with unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in outpatient settings.
The findings were published Sept. 4 in Antimicrobial Stewardship & Hospital Epidemiology.
The researchers used Environmental Protection Agency data to calculate the amount of waste produced from the packaging of antibiotic prescriptions, paper bags, inserts and plastic prescription bottles. The study focused on the unnecessary outpatient prescriptions in 2014 and 2015, estimated at 28%, and applied the percentage to the 236 million antibiotic prescriptions written in 2022, a number reported by the CDC.
Overall, the study estimated that out of the 236 million antibiotic prescriptions, 66 million were likely unnecessary, resulting in 1,887.374 CO2e/ton of greenhouse gas emissions, or the equivalent to driving 4,838,375 miles in an average gas-powered vehicle. As a result, the authors concluded that quantifying the effects of antibiotic overuse can help promote more judicious prescribing practices.
The findings could also help enhance antibiotic stewardship programs, the researchers wrote.
Read more on the study here.