{"id":5319,"date":"2023-09-24T10:45:06","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T10:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/?p=5319"},"modified":"2026-02-05T23:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T23:54:16","slug":"overprescription-leads-to-placebo-resistant-diseases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jugular.org.au\/index.php\/2023\/09\/24\/overprescription-leads-to-placebo-resistant-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"Overprescription leads to placebo-resistant diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 57 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

Written by Ara Downey and edited by Yaron Gu <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Years into an epidemic of multiresistant bacterial species, healthcare professionals are battling a new fight: placebo resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With new evidence emerging that opioids have similar, if not worse, pain management outcomes than placebo*, it\u2019s no surprise that placebo drugs are being used as the primary pharmacological management for all sorts of conditions, from knee pain to IBS and everything in between. But it wasn\u2019t long ago that antibiotics were once thought to be an undefeatable cure-all before the emergence of resistant bugs such as MRSA, and scientists fear that placebos may follow the same path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junior doctor Augustus Rookwood** says he is concerned. \u201cI\u2019ve prescribed placebos for three patients with COPD this year, and none of them have worked. I was never good at microbiology, but this has to be a pattern.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

New data shows that at least 30% of placebo treatments for conditions such as chlamydia, E. coli infection, and bacterial pneumonia fail to cause resolution. This is alarming. Bacteriologists speculate that if these common pathogens are capable of developing placebo resistance, it\u2019s only a matter of time before we start to see more complex pathogens that are resistant to placebos \u2014 and potentially even capable of transmission from person to person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Worse \u2014 it\u2019s not just infectious diseases that are affected by this phenomenon. Orthopaedic surgeon Walden Macnair** reports an anecdotal finding that the majority of placebo drugs he\u2019s prescribed for complex femur fractures have failed, with some patients even requiring surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf this pattern continues,\u201d Dr. Macnair says, \u201cI\u2019m extremely worried about what treatment is going to look like for patients moving forward. Historically, if I had someone coming in with, you know, multiple fractures or a traumatic limb amputation, we knew we could always fall back on a placebo. If that\u2019s out of the picture, I won\u2019t know what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is the era of the placebo coming to an end? Perhaps only time will tell \u2014 but in the meantime, doctors are preparing themselves to start looking for alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never thought we\u2019d see the efficacy of placebos drop anywhere below 96%,\u201d remarked medical student Antonin Dolhov**. \u201cWhat do we turn to now? Prescribe drugs with active ingredients? That sounds very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a common perspective. Drugs with active ingredients often have side effects. These can actually make patients feel unwell, which goes against the entire point of medication. When a patient takes multiple drugs with active ingredients, they may even interact with each other. Plus, it\u2019s possible to prescribe the wrong drug. All of these issues present challenges for doctors when they are forced to step outside the box of placebos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, the Australian Medical Association has issued an official statement asking prescribers to limit their prescription of placebos where another treatment is likely to be appropriate. It\u2019s hoped that decreasing usage will slow the development of placebo-resistant diseases. Some have called this decision \u2018extreme\u2019, but drastic times call for drastic measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wish all healthcare professionals the best of luck as they navigate this obstacle, and hope to see new and improved placebos entering the market in years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*This is true, and very important medical news (https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00404-X), but this satirical piece should not be used as a source of genuine medical advice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

**Real names have been substituted with the names of minor Death Eaters from Harry Potter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Written by Ara Downey and edited by Yaron Gu SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Years into an epidemic of multiresistant bacterial species, healthcare professionals are battling a new fight: placebo resistance. With new evidence emerging that opioids have similar, if not worse, pain management outcomes than placebo*, it\u2019s no surprise that placebo drugs<\/p>\n

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