Lengthy antibiotic use common in elderly

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Elderly nursing home residents are often prescribed courses of antibiotics that last 10 days or more, a new Canadian study shows, which may needlessly raise the risk of drug resistance and secondary infections. A week or less of antibiotic use effectively kills most common infections, including pneumonia, researchers said. “If they’re receiving antibiotic treatment beyond cure, they’re being exposed to those harms without additional benefit,” said Dr. Nick Daneman, who worked on the new study at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto. …