Two new studies published in the journal JAMA Network Open showed that a large proportion of patients in the US intentionally mislead their doctors to obtain prescriptions for antibiotics they may not actually need. Although this practice may not seem entirely surprising, the studies delved into the details of this phenomenon, revealing that the lies told by patients are often poorly crafted or inaccurate, yet they succeed in the vast majority of cases.
A team of researchers led by Alistair Thorpe from the University of Utah analyzed data from an online survey involving more than 1,000 adults. The results showed that more than a quarter of participants reported lying to a doctor at least once to obtain an antibiotic prescription for themselves or for children under their care, either by exaggerating symptoms, completely fabricating them, or both.
Viral symptoms and medical paradoxes
The most prominent paradox was that most of the lies revolved around symptoms concerning infections that antibiotics do not treat in the first place. The most common symptoms were related to colds, such as fever, cough, and sore throat, even though common colds are caused by viruses, not bacteria.
On the other hand, the data showed doctors responding to these questionable accounts; 77% of adults and 87% of parents reported that their lies resulted in obtaining the desired antibiotic prescription.
Patient motives and the risks of microbial resistance
Patients attributed their resort to lying to their feeling that their illness was severe, their belief that antibiotics are the only treatment, or their desire for a quick return to work and study, in addition to some individuals' desire to assert their treatment independence. These individuals were characterized as younger and often believed that antibiotic resistance is merely a myth or a promotional trick.
In contrast, experts such as Jeffrey Linder from Northwestern University warned that prescribing antibiotics for non-indicated conditions not only contributes to exacerbating the antibiotic resistance crisis, but also threatens to erode trust between doctor and patient, and exposes healthy individuals to the risks of side effects and disruption of the beneficial microbiome.
What does this reality change practically?
These findings highlight the necessity of developing effective communication strategies between doctors and patients to address public concerns and correct misconceptions about the proper use of antibiotics without weakening the therapeutic relationship between the two parties.