Antibiotic use for sore throats

FDA Consumer, Nov-Dec, 2001

Most people who see their doctors for a sore throat receive a prescription for an antibiotic, even though antibiotic treatment may be appropriate in only 10 percent of these cases, according to a study conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital. Most sore throats are caused by viral infections, which antibiotics do not treat. The study's authors note that many forces could lead physicians to prescribe antibiotics inappropriately, such as the expectations of people when they visit their doctor for a sore throat or even colds, which also do not improve with antibiotics.

Researchers also found that, despite the fact that the inexpensive traditional antibiotics penicillin and erythromycin are recommended treatments for the small number of cases that do require antibiotics, physicians often prescribe newer, more expensive "broad-spectrum" antibiotics.

The study, which analyzed physician practices from 1989 through 1999, supports previous research finding excessive antibiotic use in sore throats. The findings appear in the Sept. 12, 2001, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.