Finishing a course of antibiotics

A recent article published in the British Medical Journal (27 July 2017) questions the evidence behind the current advice to patients to finish their course of antibiotics.

Following this article there has been much interest in the press as to whether the current established advice should be changed and if people should stop taking their antiobiotics when they feel better.

The consensus amongst medical experts is that until we have sufficient evidence to support a change in the advice, we should still continue to take the full course of antibiotics as prescribed. The Medicines for Children team agree that although more research is needed into this area, new medical advice should not be issued on the results of one study and further evidence is needed before advocating for behaviour change.