The increasingly widespread and improper use of antibiotics is making the population resistant to this class of drugs. In fact, due to the sensitization action, some important pathogenic germs have developed levels of antibiotic resistance that reach up to 90%, while some strains have become resistant to all 100 antibiotics available, so much so that in the near future we begin to fear not no longer be able to have any medicines to fight infections. The alarm was sounded by the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa), which together with the Higher Institute of Health and the Ministry of Health has launched an awareness campaign on the responsible use of antibiotics. The most frequent cause of prescription of antibiotic drugs is represented by infections of the respiratory tract (60%), followed by those of the urinary system (9%), ear (6%) and oral cavity (6%). In particular, bronchitis is the most frequent cause of prescriptions among respiratory tract infections, followed by pharyngitis, tonsillitis and influenza. AIFA's invitation is, therefore, to reduce the intake of antibiotics to cases of actual need, without resorting to self-medication and following only the doctor's prescriptions.
DoctorNews – February 2, 2011
Aifa-Iss, boom in the consumption of antibiotics
The consumption of antibiotics in Italy does not stop. In Europe, in fact, only France and Cyprus precede us. And the result is the alarming spread of antibiotic resistance. According to data from the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa) and the Higher Institute of Health (ISS), which together with the Ministry of Health have launched a campaign for the responsible consumption of these medicines, in 2009 the consumption of systemic antibacterials grew in our country of 2% compared to 2008, the year in which the 44% of the population received at least one antibiotic prescription. It can therefore be estimated that every day in Italy around one and a half million people (2.5% of the population) take an antibiotic outside the hospital environment. In hospital, however, from the data on the general population of hospitalized patients, it emerges that in 2007 over 32 million doses of antibiotics were consumed in Italy, and that approximately 3-4 million patients received hospital antibiotic therapy. Contrary to what happens for drugs intended for the treatment of chronic pathologies, in which the greatest consumption in 80% cases occurs in people over 55 years of age, the use of antibiotics is not characterized by age-dependent variations, with the exception of a major use in children. Overall, the Aifa-Iss report found a trend of growth in consumption in the Italian regions, which rose by 13% between 1999 and 2007, while in the same period in France there was a reduction of 16%.
Pharmacist33 – February 2, 2011
