Three in four patients who presented in an emergency department with symptoms of gonorrhea or chlamydia and treated with antibiotics actually tested negative for the sexually transmitted diseases, according to research out of St. John Hospital & Medical Center in Detroit.
Researchers examined records from 1,103 patients who underwent STD testing in the ED and presented their findings at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology conference.
Of those 1,103 patients, 40 percent received an antibiotic for gonorrhea and/or chlamydia — but 76.6 percent of those patients did not have the STDs.
On the other hand, of the 60 percent of patients who did not receive antibiotics, just 7 percent ultimately tested positive for either STD.
"We have to find the appropriate balance between getting people tested and treated for STDs, but not prescribing antibiotics to patients who don’t need them," said Karen Jones, BSN, RN, infection preventionist at St. John Hospital & Medical Center. "There is a tricky balance between not furthering antibiotic resistance by over-prescribing, but also still getting people treatment for STDs they might have."
Unnecessary antibiotics can contribute to the growth of antibiotic resistance. "Improving the use of antibiotics is a national and international priority to help prevent antibiotic resistance which could threaten our ability to treat even the simplest of infections," said APIC 2016 President Susan Dolan, RN.