[Utilization of antibiotics in Denmark 1994-1995. A population-based study]

The aim of this study was to explore the potential of individualized drug statistics to provide various epidemiological measures of the utilization of antibiotics. The data derive from the Register of Drug Statistics at the Danish National Board of Health. The most important measures were DDD/1000 inhabitants/day, the number of patients and the distributions of prescriptions according to age and gender. The analysis encompassed 3,825,057 prescriptions presented by 1,670,801 patients during the period from 1 March 1994 to 31 May 1995. The overall consumption was 12.1 DDD/1000 inhabitants/day. Sixty-two percent of all patients and 84% of the patients receiving sulfonamides were female. The most frequent drug used was V-penicillin which was prescribed to 48% of the patients. The group which consumed the greatest part of sulfonamides and quinolones were older women over the age of 65. It was concluded that the Register of Drug Statistics provides important information on individualized drug utilization.