Conclusions
Sufficient data on antibiotic use in the community is lacking in most countries. Few countries can show antibiotic use data over time, to analyse trends in prescribing. All countries have an important role to ensure that validated national and regional, data on antibiotic prescribing and sales are made publicly available. The collection of DID data in the ESAC project is an excellent start, but to evaluate if antibiotic prescribing is rational, data on number of prescriptions, indications, dose and duration of treatment, as well as different age groups is essential. Such data are needed in order to evaluate the impact of antibiotic prescribing on resistance, morbidity, complications, and mortality.
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Mölstad, S., Cars, O. (2005). Antibiotic Use in the Community. In: Gould, I.M., van der Meer, J.W.M. (eds) Antibiotic Policies. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-22852-7_29
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