Antibiotic purchasing by Canadian hospitals, 2007-2011

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Background:

• Antibiotic stewardship is crucial for combating antimicrobial resistance.
• Understanding national purchasing trends is vital for public health initiatives.
• Canadian hospital antibiotic use patterns require ongoing monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze antibiotic purchasing trends in Canadian hospitals from 2007 to 2011.
• To identify regional variations in antibiotic consumption across Canada.
• To assess the proportion of high-importance antibiotics used in hospitals.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Canadian Drugstore and Hospital Purchases Audit (CDH) dataset.
• Analyzed pharmaceutical product data from over 800 Canadian hospitals.
• Focused on unit volume and extrapolated data for national representation.

Main Results:

• Total antibiotic purchases increased by 7% in 2011 compared to 2010.
• Oral antibiotic purchases rose by 8%, and parenteral by 3%.
• Manitoba had the highest consumption (2.61 DID), Ontario the lowest (1.26 DID).
• Category I antibiotics remained a significant proportion of total hospital use.
• New Brunswick showed highest Category I consumption, driven by fluoroquinolones.

Conclusions:

• Canadian hospitals exhibit an increasing trend in antibiotic purchasing and consumption.
• Significant regional disparities in antibiotic consumption exist across Canada.
• High-importance antibiotics continue to be widely used in hospital settings.