Still, patients in Shanghai continued to receive antibiotics at a far higher rate than the world average. About 60 percent of patients treated at local hospitals, including outpatients, were given antibiotics in 2011, according to a study by local health authorities that was published on the news website Eastday.com.
Only 10 percent of patients around the world are treated with antibiotics on average, Du Wenmin, vice director of the Shanghai Clinical Center for Drug Adverse Reactions, told China Radio International.
A major reason for the overuse in China comes from patients, who often insist that doctors proscribe them antibiotics regardless of whether the proscription is necessary, said Zhen Jianying, a doctor from a community health center.
The problem not only wastes medical resources but can also seriously damage a patient's health, said Xu Wensheng, director of the Infectious Disease Department from Changzheng Hospital. "Overusing antibiotics can cause patients to grow resistant to the drugs, which can become a big problem for them in the future," Xu told the Global Times. "It can lead to liver and kidney damage. It is also a waste of money for patients if they are given unnecessary and expensive antibiotics."
The committee has sent educational brochures to more than 621,000 residents detailing the problems of overusing antibiotics.
Cumquat market in S China's Guangxi
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