An analysis of antibiotic sales data from countries with national action plans (NAPs) for addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) found that the implementation of those plans “was not associated with changes in antibiotic sales.” CIDRAP has the news.
The study looked at “pharmaceutical sales data from 37 countries 2 years before and 2 years after they implemented their NAPs. The World Health Organization in 2015 called on countries to adopt NAPs as part of a global effort to reduce AMR.” NAPs are meant to help governments “identify steps that health agencies, regulators, and nongovernmental organizations should take to improve infection control, expand antimicrobial stewardship, and curtail inappropriate antibiotic use.”
The antibiotic sales rate across these countries was “1.8% lower at eight quarters post-NAP implementation relative to pre-implementation trends.” Only three of the countries saw significant declines in antibiotic sales, while three saw significant increases. The association between NAPs and antibiotic sales remained “insignificant” when “stratified by sector “(retail/hospital), prescription status, and AWaRe (Access, Watch, and Reserve) classification status.”
The study authors suggest a possible explanation for the results is that “of the 26 NAPs available in English, only 7 identified antibiotic reduction as an explicit goal, and only 3 of those set a measurable target to improve antibiotic use.”
