Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 8, 2025

Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses
11:17

Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses

Published on: August 30, 2018

13.0K

Using Belgian pharmacy dispensing data to assess antibiotic use for children in ambulatory care

Hannelore Dillen1, Ruben Burvenich2, Tine De Burghgraeve2

  • 1EPI-Centre, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. hannelore.dillen@kuleuven.be.

BMC Pediatrics
|January 4, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Paediatric antibiotic use and spending in Belgian ambulatory care have decreased significantly over the past decade. Further initiatives are needed to promote prudent antibiotic prescribing for children.

Area of Science:

  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Antimicrobial resistance compromises antibiotic effectiveness.
  • Children face high risk from unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions due to diagnostic uncertainty and parental expectations.
  • Lack of recent Belgian data on pediatric ambulatory antibiotic prescribing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze antibiotic prescription patterns in Belgian ambulatory care for children.
  • To provide recent data on pediatric antibiotic prescribing practices in Belgium.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized pharmacy dispensing data (Farmanet) from 2010-2019.
  • Obtained Belgian population data from Statbel.
  • Performed descriptive statistics and trend/seasonality analyses using Microsoft Excel and R.

Main Results:

  • Paediatric antibiotic use and expenditures decreased by 35.5% and 44.3% respectively in Belgian ambulatory care.
  • Highest antibiotic volumes prescribed by GPs in Wallonia and rural areas, to younger children, and during winter.
  • Penicillins were most prescribed; sulfonamides, trimethoprim, and quinolones showed the largest relative package reductions.

Conclusions:

  • Paediatric antibiotic use has declined in Belgian ambulatory care.
  • Continued initiatives are necessary to encourage judicious antibiotic prescribing in outpatient settings.
Abstract

Keywords:
Ambulatory careAnti-bacterial agentsAntibioticsBelgiumDrug utilizationOutpatientPharmacy dispensingPrescriptions

More Related Videos

Population and Single-Cell Analysis of Antibiotic Persistence in Escherichia coli12:29

Population and Single-Cell Analysis of Antibiotic Persistence in Escherichia coli

Published on: March 24, 2023

2.3K
Antimicrobial Synergy Testing by the Inkjet Printer-assisted Automated Checkerboard Array and the Manual Time-kill Method12:03

Antimicrobial Synergy Testing by the Inkjet Printer-assisted Automated Checkerboard Array and the Manual Time-kill Method

Published on: April 18, 2019

26.6K

Related Concept Videos

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...
11
Drug Dosing: Infants and Children01:29

Drug Dosing: Infants and Children

Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...
23
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption01:23

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption

Understanding the physiological differences in the pediatric population is crucial for effective pharmacotherapy. Neonates, infants, and children exhibit significant variations in gastric pH, gastric emptying time, intestinal transit time, and biliary function. These variations profoundly affect oral drug absorption, necessitating a nuanced approach to pediatric dosing.Neonates present with a unique physiological profile, having a gastric pH greater than 4 and faster and more irregular gastric...
12
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution01:17

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution

Drug distribution in the pediatric population exhibits unique challenges and considerations due to the physiological differences between children, particularly neonates and infants, and adults. A crucial aspect of pediatric pharmacology is understanding how these differences impact the pharmacokinetics of various drugs, necessitating age-specific dosing strategies to ensure efficacy and safety.Neonates and infants have a higher total body water content, ~75%–90% of their body weight,...
10
Pharmacovigilance01:19

Pharmacovigilance

Post-marketing surveillance is a critical component of pharmaceutical regulation, often uncovering unanticipated adverse drug reactions (ADRs) once a drug is widely used over an extended period.
This process, termed pharmacovigilance, aims to detect, evaluate, and minimize harmful effects related to medication use. The data collection for pharmacovigilance depends on spontaneous reporting systems, where healthcare professionals or patients voluntarily report suspected ADRs.
In some cases, there...
1.1K
Pharmaceutical Alternatives: Stability-Related Therapeutic Nonequivalence01:22

Pharmaceutical Alternatives: Stability-Related Therapeutic Nonequivalence

Generic intravenous (IV) drugs are considered bioequivalent to their branded counterparts due to their 100% bioavailability upon administration. However, variations in stability among different drug products can significantly influence their therapeutic performance, even if they are pharmaceutically equivalent.Cefuroxime, a prophylactic antimicrobial, is often used as a single-dose IV injection for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. A 3 g dose typically provides...
11