Study Finds Next-Gen Antibiotics Underutilized

WASHINGTON — A new study conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health found clinicians frequently continue to treat antibiotic-resistant infections with older generic antibiotics considered to be less effective and less safe than newer ones.

Researchers examined the factors influencing doctors’ preference for older versus newer antibiotics in an effort to shed light on the decision-making processes among clinicians when treating patients with challenging bloodstream infections caused by gram-negative bacteria.

Gram-negative bacteria are a class of bacteria resistant to multiple drugs and increasingly resistant to most antibiotics.

The researchers say that in spite of Food and Drug Administration approval of seven next-generation antibiotics to fight infections caused by resistant gram-negative bacteria, at many hospitals, particularly smaller facilities located in rural areas, staff were reluctant to adopt newer antibiotics.

According to a release on the NIH website, researchers found a large cost disparity between older and newer classes of antibiotics; the newer drugs can cost approximately six times more than the older medications, which could disincentivize prescribing.

Researchers also found next-gen agents are prescribed more often at hospitals where lab results that show the medications are effective against a patient’s bacterial infection are reported to prescribers.

“Earlier and more widespread availability of such lab testing might improve use,” according to scientists.

Authors of the study recommend that future public health policies and economic strategies on further development and use of similar antibiotics should be designed to identify and overcome additional barriers.

This study was funded by the FDA and the NIH Intramural Research Program.

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