VA Uses More 'Last-Resort' Antibiotics

VA Uses More 'Last-Resort' Antibiotics
By Michael Smith
North American Correspondent
MedPage Today
Published: May 17, 2012

Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.

The use of "last resort" antibiotics by the nation's largest medical system has been increasing in recent years, a likely indication of a growing problem with drug-resistant pathogens.

Note that there is no comprehensive data about the use of the antibiotics or what pathogens are associated with their use.

The use of "last resort" antibiotics by the nation's largest medical system has been increasing in recent years, a likely indication of a growing problem with drug-resistant pathogens, researchers reported.

In 127 Veterans Affairs medical centers, the use of the recently approved tigecycline (Tygacil) rose four-fold over a 5-year period, according to Makoto Jones, MD, of the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System, and colleagues.

Over the same time, the use of polymyxins – antibiotics long out of favor because of uncertainty over toxicity and dosing -- also rose, although not as steeply, Jones and colleagues reported online in PLoS ONE.

The use of the drugs "probably indicates the presence or suspicion of problematic pathogens," the researchers argued. But despite that, there is no comprehensive data about the use of the medications or what pathogens are associated with their use, they added.
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