In research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a neglected antibiotic called temocillin resulted to a lower selection of resistant bacteria than the conventional therapy for febrile urinary tract infection. As a result, temocillin may be effective in the treatment of severe urinary tract infections that result in a fever, as well as a reduction in the spread of resistant bacteria in hospitals.
Antibiotics are antibiotics that are used to prevent and treat illnesses caused by bacteria. Antibiotic resistance develops when bacteria evolve in response to antibiotic treatment. Antibiotic resistance develops in bacteria, not people or animals. These bacteria may infect both humans and animals, and their illnesses are more difficult to treat than non-resistant bacteria.
The bacterial species Escherichia coli (E. coli) makes up a major portion of the intestine’s natural bacterial flora. However, if E. coli enters the body in the incorrect locations, such as the blood or the urinary system, it can cause significant sickness.
Urinary tract infections are most commonly caused by E. coli. Antibiotics in pill form may frequently be used to treat these infections, but some people get so sick that they must be taken to the hospital and treated with intravenous antibiotics.
It has long been standard procedure to use the antibiotic cefotaxime for such intravenous treatment. But as time has passed, an increasing fraction of bacteria have become less susceptible to this antibiotic, both in Sweden and the rest of the world, and this has made it necessary to seek an alternative.
Håkan Hanberger
Antibiotic resistance raises medical expenses, lengthens hospital stays, and raises fatality rates. The way antibiotics are prescribed and used in the globe has to alter immediately.
“It has long been standard procedure to use the antibiotic cefotaxime for such intravenous treatment. But as time has passed, an increasing fraction of bacteria have become less susceptible to this antibiotic, both in Sweden and the rest of the world, and this has made it necessary to seek an alternative,” says Håkan Hanberger, professor at Linköping University and consultant in infectious diseases at Linköping University Hospital. He has been the principal investigator and medically responsible for the study.
Antibiotic resistance is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world. New resistance mechanisms are arising and spreading throughout the world, posing a danger to our capacity to treat common infectious illnesses.
The current study is the outcome of a request from the Swedish government to the Swedish Public Health Agency to investigate how existing antibiotics might be utilized most effectively. The researchers looked at temocillin, an antibiotic that has been around for decades and belongs to the penicillin family.
Although it is utilized in other European nations, it is not available in Sweden. Temocillin is an antibiotic that works against E. coli and other bacteria in the intestine that can cause urinary tract infections. It’s a good thing that temocillin doesn’t have a wide antibacterial action since it decreases the chance of the therapy harming the natural gut bacterial flora.
This prompted the researchers to study if temocillin causes less resistance among gut bacteria than cefotaxime therapy. They looked at 152 people who had a urinary tract infection with a fever, often known as pyelonephritis, and needed intravenous antibiotics.
“We saw clearly that the intestinal flora was less affected in the group treated with temocillin. The main reason for this is that temocillin gives less selection of resistant intestinal bacteria,” says Charlotta Edlund, professor of microbiology and specialist investigator at the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
Misuse and overuse of antibiotics, as well as inadequate infection prevention and control, all contribute to antibiotic resistance. To lessen the effect and spread of resistance, actions may be done at all levels of society.
The clinical impact of temocillin was comparable to that of cefotaxime, and the side effects were also comparable. Because temocillin is less aggressive against bacterial flora in the gut, it is likely that using this neglected antibiotic for urinary tract infections would benefit both patients and society.
“The consequence will be that we see less selection of resistant intestinal bacteria in hospitals, which may contribute to reducing hospital-related infections from these bacteria,” says Håkan Hanberger.
The Swedish government commissioned the study, which was supported by the Swedish Public Health Agency.
