The NPA looks at two recent health stories that have made the media headlines – and the facts behind them

A patient has been prescribed an antibiotic to treat a chest infection but is concerned as she read in a newspaper that antibiotics are becoming ineffective. What should you advise?

Where does the headline come from?

This story originates from a World Health Organization report about the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. The report called for urgent action to preserve the power of antibiotics and to make new ones. It is based on information and data for nine antibacterial drugs that are used in seven infections when other antibiotics haven’t worked. The infections included: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia, Nontyphoidal Salmonella, Shigella and Neisseria gonorrhoea. E.coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are becoming reliant on ‘last resort’ antibacterial drugs called carbapenems.

Public Health England reported that while resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae to carbapenems has increased in the UK, the numbers are still small. Furthermore, for tuberculosis, resistance in the UK to first-line drug treatments is seen in less than eight per cent of cases and resistance to multiple drugs is seen in just 1.6 per cent of cases. It did report high levels of gonorrhoea resistance to antibiotics in the UK, which is a concern.

You can help by advising the patient of the importance of taking antibiotics correctly.

NPA members can access resources on antimicrobial resistance from The NPA website.

A patient is worried about his asthma. He read a report in the newspaper about asthma deaths and is worried about complications. What should you advise?

Where does the headline come from?

This story comes from an enquiry report, led by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), which reviewed 195 asthma deaths in the UK over a year and looked at identifying avoidable factors.

It found that a lack of implementation of current guidelines on how asthma should be treated was a factor in just under half (46 per cent) of these deaths. It also found that asthma symptom-relieving medications were over prescribed, and not enough asthma preventing medications were prescribed. In 65 per cent of cases, patient factors also contributed to deaths. These included smoking, not adhering to advice, and not attending review appointments.

The report found that of those who died, more than half did not appear to receive specialist medical care in the year prior to death. For just under half of those who died, there was no evidence that they had an asthma review at their general practice in the year prior to death.

Pharmacy is well placed to provide advice and support to patients with asthma. Services such as the new medicine service and medicines use reviews can be good sign posters. The RCP also made a suggestion that people who have asthma and smoke should be offered referral to a smoking cessation service. If a person with asthma has smoked in the past, or is exposed to second-hand smoke, this should be noted in medical records. Therefore, signposting the patient to stop smoking services can be of benefit.

NPA members can access stop smoking scratch cards to help initiate a conversation about stopping smoking. To purchase, contact the NPA Sales Team on: 0844 736 4199 or order online.