TORONTO — A study of antibiotic use in Ontario nursing homes shows huge variation in the amounts of the drugs residents receive.
It reports that residents of homes where antibiotic use is heaviest face a 24 per cent increased risk of having a health problem linked to antibiotics such as C. difficile diarrhea or an infection with a drug-resident bacteria.
Interestingly, the increased risk associated with high antibiotic use applies to all residents of these homes, not just the people who have been taking antibiotics.
The study's first author, Dr. Nick Daneman, says the finding underscores the need for better use of antibiotics in long-term care facilities.
The study looked at the experiences of more than 110,000 people living in 607 nursing homes in Ontario in 2010 and 2011.
The study is published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, a publication of the American Medical Association.
