Antibiotic use in Germany and European comparison

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases
• Pharmacoeconomics

Background:

• Rising antibiotic resistance and declining new drug development necessitate better understanding of consumption-resistance dynamics.
• European Union directives emphasize political leadership in antimicrobial stewardship.
• New German databases provide independent data on antibiotic use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate and compare antibiotic consumption in ambulatory and hospital care in Germany with other EU countries.
• To assess regional variations in antibiotic use within Germany.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of antibiotic use data from independent German databases.
• Comparison of German ambulatory care antibiotic use (4948 DDD/1000 population/year) with other EU countries.
• Estimation of hospital antibiotic use in Germany, acknowledging data limitations.

Main Results:

• German ambulatory antibiotic use is in the lower third among EU countries.
• Regional variations in German antibiotic use are significantly lower than in high-use countries (e.g., France, Spain, Portugal).
• Hospital antibiotic use in Germany appears comparable to other EU countries, though data are estimates.

Conclusions:

• Germany demonstrates relatively low antibiotic consumption in ambulatory care compared to many EU nations.
• Further efforts are needed to refine hospital antibiotic use data across the EU.
• Continued surveillance and data collection are crucial for effective antimicrobial stewardship programs.