HealthDay TV: Antibiotics and Pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB)

Hi, I'm Dr. Cindy Haines for HealthDay TV. The use... or overuse... of antibiotics is a hot topic in medicine...Now another study adds to the debate.

New research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine says that widespread use of certain antibiotics may actually be creating a strain of tuberculosis that's resistant to them.

Researchers studied the records of Medicaid patients in Tennessee who were diagnosed with TB. They found that patients who used these types of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones within 12 months of their diagnosis were 5 times as likely to have a resistant strain of TB than those who did not.

The resistance was highest among people who were treated more than 60 days prior to their TB diagnosis...suggesting that early exposure to the antibiotic may make the strain more resistant.

The study provides additional evidence that the decision to prescribe or take an antibiotic should be made thoughtfully.

I'm Dr. Cindy Haines for HealthDay TV.