ArticlesGlobal antibiotic consumption 2000 to 2010: an analysis of national pharmaceutical sales data
Introduction
Antibiotic drugs have reduced the burden of common infectious diseases and become essential for many medical interventions.1, 2 However, antibiotic-resistant pathogens have emerged and spread among human and animal populations worldwide.3, 4 Pathogens such as meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)5 and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)6 have become a global problem. The loss of efficacy against common pathogens has not only led to a shift towards more expensive antibiotic drugs in high-income countries, but also to increased morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries, where affordability of second-line drugs restricts their use.1
The emergence of drug-resistant bacterial strains is due to the selection pressure (an external force that reduces reproductive success of some individuals in a population) imposed by use of antibiotics. The intensity of this natural event is driven by a population's volume of consumption of antibiotic drugs, whether use is appropriate or not.7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Identification of spatial and temporal trends in antibiotic consumption is important to understand the epidemiology of antibiotic resistance. First, identification of regions in which rate of consumption of antibiotics per person is high or rising can rapidly predict where the threat of new resistant infections will be greatest12 and can help to inform initiatives to preserve antibiotic efficacy.13, 14 Second, mapping of the distribution of antibiotic consumption provides a baseline for the assessment of efforts for future antibiotic drug reduction.
Although some estimates have been made, a comprehensive analysis has not been completed. In the USA, the ResistanceMap project12 mapped the distribution of use of cephalosporins, macrolides, penicillins, fluoroquinolones, tetracyclines, and trimethoprim. Goossens and colleagues8 made a detailed inventory of antibiotic use in the European Union and neighbouring countries.15 In 1987, Col and colleagues16 first attempted to estimate the global use of antibiotic drugs with data for a few countries. In this report, we aim to assess antibiotic consumption patterns from 2000 to 2010 for 16 groups of antibiotic drugs in 71 countries.
Section snippets
Methods
We used IMS Health MIDAS (IMS Health, Danbury, CT, USA) to quantify antibiotic drug consumption. With use of national sample surveys done by pharmaceutical sales distribution channels (ie, from manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer), this database estimates antibiotic consumption from the volume of antibiotics sold in retail and hospital pharmacies. In each sector, data are collected regularly to estimate direct sales from antibiotic drug manufacturers and indirect sales from wholesalers. The
Results
Between 2000 and 2010, consumption of antibiotic drugs increased by 35% (from 52 057 163 835 standard units in 2000 to 70 440 786 553 standard units in 2010). Cephalosporins and broad-spectrum penicillins accounted for 55% of the total standard units consumed in 2010 (figure 1). The largest absolute increases in consumption between 2000 and 2010 were observed for cephalosporins (8·1×109 standard units), broad-spectrum penicillins (5·8×109 standard units), and fluoroquinolones (3·0×109 standard
Discussion
This study, to our knowledge, is the first to attempt to map and compare the evolution of antibiotic consumption on a global scale since the previous review, 27 years ago;16 a period in which antibiotic use patterns could have changed greatly (panel).16 We showed that antibiotic consumption increased substantially (35% increase between 2000 and 2010), mainly in developing countries. Three quarters of this increase occurred in BRICS countries, whereas their share in the overall increase in
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