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Even though only 22 percent of American respondents said they believed that leftover antibiotics should be saved and used again, 46 percent of those with leftover antibiotics admitted saving them, according to an international survey of 4,500 people in 11 countries.
Misuse of antibiotics is a contributing cause of antibiotic resistance. Saving unused antibiotics for future use is a potential problem because an antibiotic prescribed to treat one illness may not be an appropriate or necessary treatment for another illness.
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Internationally, the survey found that younger patients were much less likely than older patients to be compliant when it comes to the use antibiotics. In the United States, 33 percent of respondents ages 18 to 34 reported noncompliance, compared to 11 percent of respondents age 50 and older.
Overall, Americans are on par with global noncompliance rates. The findings suggest that younger people may need to be targeted for more public education about the proper use of antibiotics.
The survey findings were presented this week at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
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