Are antibiotics overprescribed in mild COPD?

The balance between risks and benefits can be difficult to gauge, researchers say
Reuters Health
brightly coloured capsules - suggesting antibiotics

Antibiotics are being overprescribed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly for mild-to-moderate disease, a large observational study suggests.

UK researchers analysed data from a large English primary care database, for nearly 20,000 COPD patients (mean age, 71, 46% women) from 157 practices who were followed for one year.