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JAC Advance Access published online on May 30, 2006
Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, doi:10.1093/jac/dkl185
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received August 23, 2005
Revised April 12, 2006
Accepted April 16, 2006

Original article

European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC): outpatient cephalosporin use in Europe

Samuel Coenen 1 * {dagger}, Matus Ferech 2 {dagger}, Katerina Dvorakova 2, Erik Hendrickx 3, Carl Suetens 3, Herman Goossens 4, and on behalf of the ESAC Project Group {ddagger}

1 Department of General Practice, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Fund for Scientific Research--Flanders, Brussels, Belgium
2 Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
3 Unit of Epidemiology, Scientific Institute of Public Health, Brussels, Belgium
4 Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Microbiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Samuel Coenen, E-mail: samuel.coenen{at}ua.ac.be


  Abstract

Background: Data on outpatient cephalosporin use in Europe were collected from 25 countries within the ESAC project, funded by DG SANCO of the European Commission, using the WHO ATC/DDD methodology.

Methods: For the period 1997-2003, data on outpatient use of systemic cephalosporins aggregated at the level of the active substance were collected and expressed in DDD (WHO, version 2004) per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID). Use was analysed in detail, using the new ATC codes J01DB, J01DC, J01DD and J01DE, introduced in the 2005 issue of the WHO ATC index and assigned to the four cephalosporin generations.

Results: Total outpatient cephalosporin use in 2003 varied by a factor of 270 between the country with the highest (6.18 DID in Greece) and lowest (0.02 DID in Denmark) use. First-, second- and third-generation cephalosporins were used most in 6, 16 and 3 countries, respectively. We observed fourth-generation use (mainly cefepime) in ambulatory care in 11 countries. From 1997 to 2003 cephalosporin use decreased in 13 countries, in France by more than 1 DID. A relative increase of second-generation (mainly cefuroxime) or third-generation use (mainly cefpodoxime or cefixime) by more than 10% in 12 countries coincided with an equally large decrease of first-generation use in eight countries (mainly cefadroxil, cefalexin or cefatrizine). In six countries, first-generation use increased, second-generation use decreased or both occurred.

Conclusion: The new ATC codes allow a more detailed description of outpatient cephalosporin use. The variation in antibiotic use in Europe is most extreme for this class of antibiotics, suggesting that in many countries in Europe these antibiotics are prescribed inappropriately.

Keywords: antibiotic use; cephalosporins; drug consumption; pharmacoepidemiology; ambulatory care; Europe.

{dagger}These authors contributed equally to this work.

{ddagger}Members are listed in the Acknowledgements section.


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