The use of antibiotics is the most important modifiable risk factor for the development of microorganism resistance. A cross-sectional study of outpatients receiving antibiotic prescriptions registered in a population database in Colombia was conducted. The characteristics of the consumption in capital cities and small municipalities was studied and the AWaRe classification was used. AWaRe classifies antibiotics into three stewardship groups: Access, Watch and Reserve, to emphasize the importance of their optimal use and potential harms of antimicrobial resistance. A total of 182,397 patients were prescribed an antibiotic; the most common were penicillins (38.6%), cephalosporins (30.2%) and fluoroquinolones (10.9%). 'Access' antibiotics (86.4%) were the most frequently prescribed, followed by 'Watch' antibiotics (17.0%). Being 18 or older, being male, living in a municipality, having one or more comorbidities and urinary, respiratory or gastrointestinal disorders increased the probability of receiving 'Watch' or 'Reserve' antibiotics. Penicillin and urinary antiseptic prescriptions predominated in cities, while cephalosporin and fluoroquinolone prescriptions predominated in municipalities. This analysis showed that the goal set by the WHO Access of mainly using Access antibiotics is being met, although the high use of Watch antibiotics in municipalities should be carefully studied to determine if it is necessary to design specific campaigns to improve antibiotics use.
Keywords: AWaRe classification; Colombia; antibiotic prescription; cephalosporins; drug utilization study; fluoroquinolones; rural/urban consumption.