Objectives: The objectives of this study were to provide a nationally representative analysis of antibiotic prescribing in outpatient paediatrics and to assess overall and class-specific antibiotic costs in Greece.
Methods: Data on antibiotic prescriptions for patients aged ≤19 years old between July 2010 and June 2013 in Greece were extracted from the IMS Health Xponent database. Antibiotics were grouped into narrow- and broad-spectrum agents. The number of prescribed antibiotics and census denominators were used to calculate prescribing rates. The total costs associated with prescribed antibiotics were calculated.
Results: More than 7 million antibiotics were prescribed during the study period, with an annual rate of 1100 antibiotics/1000 persons. Prescribing rates were higher among children aged <10 years old. Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) accounted for 80% of prescribed antibiotics, with acute otitis media (22.3%), acute tonsillitis (19.5%) and acute bronchitis/bronchiolitis (13.9%) being the most common clinical diagnoses. Cephalosporins (32.9%), penicillins (32.3%) and macrolides (32.1%) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic classes. The majority (90.4%) of antibiotics were broad spectrum. Antibiotic expenditures totalled ∼€50 million.
Conclusions: Broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing is common in outpatient paediatric patients. These data provide important targets to inform the development of an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programme targeting specific practices, providers and conditions.
Keywords: acute respiratory infections; ambulatory paediatric patients; antimicrobial prescription; cost.
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