People who have surgery in low-income countries are more likely to develop an infection than those in richer countries. They could be linked to drug-resistant bacteria, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh, Birmingham and Warwick in the UK analyzed medical data from 2,500 practitioners and researchers in 66 countries for 12,000 digestive system patients.
A link between infection and antibiotic resistance
The results of the study showed that patients in low-income countries were 60% more likely to contract an infection in the weeks following gastrointestinal surgery compared to high- and middle-income countries. Patients who developed an infection around the wound were more likely to die.
Researchers highlight link between antibiotic use and infection, highlight urgent need to tackle antimicrobial resistance in low-income country
Drug-resistant bacteria do not respond to antibiotics, making it difficult to treat the infection. Their spread has been linked to the overuse of antibiotics and is an urgent global health challenge.
“In a fifth of cases the organism involved was resistant to antibiotics given before the operation, and this climbed to one in three in low-income countries,” said Ewen Harrison, clinical lecturer and consultant surgeon. honorary at the University of Edinburgh.
“Our study shows that low-income countries bear a disproportionate burden of surgical-related infections.”
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