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Tracking the use of antibiotics may help fight resistance
By determining use patterns, tracking can help health care providers avoid antibiotic overuse.
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BARCELONA, Spain — Tracking the use of antibiotics may help make health care providers more aware of overuse and may help combat resistance, according to the results of a study presented at the 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, held here in April.
The study results, presented by Fawziah Marra, PharmD, associate professor in the department of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada demonstrated that appropriate policies affecting antibiotic consumption can be designed by tracking the relationships among antibiotic consumption, socioeconomic determinants and their related effect.
“Tracking of the consumption of antibiotics is vital,” Marra told Infectious Disease News. “We now know there is good correlation between the use of antibiotics and the development of resistance. Use of antibiotics is one of the major drivers of antibiotic resistance. Thus, tracking gives us an idea of which antibiotics are being used, how much and for what indication. This means we can target some of our interventions in the ‘problem areas.’”
Marra and her colleagues analyzed data from the British Columbia PharmaNet database, which included information regarding all outpatient oral antibiotic prescriptions for one year (2005).
Prescriptions were expressed as their defined daily dose per 1,000 citizens. The researchers used Geographic Information Systems mapping to determine spatial variations of antibiotic consumption within British Columbia. The researchers also examined relationships between antibiotic consumption and socioeconomic and climatic factors.
Findings
According to Marra, overall antibiotic consumption was highest in the northern regions of British Columbia and lowest in the interior regions.
The results showed correlations between antibiotic consumption and socioeconomic factors. Higher rates of antibiotic consumption were observed in regions with higher populations of Aboriginals, children 15 years and younger and among families at higher income levels. A higher physicians-to-population ratio was also associated to higher antibiotic use.
The results also indicated that climatic factors may play a role in antibiotic consumption. For example, the researchers found there was an inverse relationship between antibiotic consumption and July average temperature. Increased rainfall was associated with increased antibiotic consumption.
Reducing antibiotic use
This study’s results indicated that improved tracking can keep health care providers better informed about antibiotic use across a wider geographic area. With this knowledge, health care providers can be more judicious in prescribing antibiotics and can make efforts to avoid overuse of antibiotics.
Marra said that encouraging the reduction of antibiotic use should be considered an important public health issue. “I would advise physicians to make sure that antibiotics are being used appropriately,” she said. “In other words, antibiotics should only be used for a true infection and for bacteria — not viruses. Also, the ‘watch and wait’ policy is often acceptable for some infections.” – by Jay Lewis
For more information:
- Marra F, Mak S, Chong M, et al. The use of geographical information systems to map antibiotic consumption. #O397. Presented at: The 18th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases; April 19-22, 2008; Barcelona, Spain.