UNASSIGNED: This work analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on antidepressant consumption during the first year of the pandemic (2020) taking as a baseline the prescribing trends during the previous 4 years (2016-2019). For this, the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the 4 islands that make it up were taken as a geographical area.
UNASSIGNED: Sales data in community pharmacies were taken as an aggregated database. The dose per inhabitant and day was used as an indicator of consumption.
UNASSIGNED: In the islands of EL Hierro and La Gomera, the increase in population does not in itself justify the relevant increases observed in the consumption of antidepressants and possibly COVID-19 and its consequences on the health of the population could be responsible for these increases. On the island of Tenerife, the increase in population could justify, to a large extent, the slight increase in consumption observed. The island of La Palma presents an increase of 1.40%, but lower than the expected value taking as baseline the prescribing trends in the last 4 years, despite an increase in population of 0,95%. All the islands present the same trends in the consumption of the different subgroups of antidepressants and active pharmaceutical ingredients, although with slight variations, with the exception of the island of La Palma which presents a statistically different behavior and trends.
UNASSIGNED: These differences could be related to the socio-sanitary and demographic characteristics of each of the islands.

(1) Background: Antibiotic surveillance data are crucial to map out strategies to promote their optimal use at hospital and community levels. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of longitudinal trends in antibiotic consumption over 7 years at a core \"National Antimicrobial Consumption Network\" site in North India. (2) Methods: In-patient antibiotic consumption data (2017-2023) were obtained from the hospital\'s central drug store and organised as follows: defined daily dose per 100 bed-days; antibiotic consumption as per the WHO access, watch and reserve classification; trends in overall and different antibiotic classes\' consumption; paediatric formulations of antibiotics; and hospital\'s annual expenditure on antibiotics. (3) Results: During the 7-year study period, no significant trend could be observed in the overall antibiotic consumption (average annual percent change, AAPC: 9.22; 95% CI: -16.46, 34.9) and cost (AAPC: 13.55; -13.2, 40.3). There was a higher proportion of the consumption of antibiotics in the \"reserve\" group from 2021 onwards compared to previous years, but the overall trend over 7 years was not significant (AAPC: 319.75; -137.6, 777.1). Antibiotic combinations, classified under the WHO \"not recommended\" category, comprised a significant proportion of antibiotics consumed. A remarkably increased consumption of azithromycin and doxycycline was recorded during 2020 and 2021, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. (4) Conclusions: Some recommendations to optimise antibiotic use are promoting the use of narrow spectrum \"access\" group agents; linking antimicrobial resistance and consumption data to formulate effective therapeutic and prophylactic antibiotic use guidelines; and the adoption of restrictive antibiotic policy.

UNASSIGNED: With the remarkable effect of controlling the increase in drug costs by the first batch of National Key Monitoring and Rational Use Drugs (first NKMRUDs), the National Health Commission of the People\'s Republic of China releases the second NKMRUDs to further strengthen the reasonable use of drugs. Unfortunately, the second NKMRUDs include some drugs of National Volume-based Procurement and National Essential Medicines, which challenges the management of pharmaceutical affairs on the three kinds of drugs.
UNASSIGNED: The main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the second NKMRUDs and explore their monitoring indicators.
UNASSIGNED: An adapted WHO methodology for point prevalence surveys was conducted for the second NKMRUDs. For the monitoring indicators, we sought to explore whether the defined daily dose (DDD) and days of therapy (DOT) can be suitable for the second NKMRUDs through comparing differences between DDD and DOT with the prescribed daily dose (PDD).
UNASSIGNED: Among the 935 included patients, 29.20% of the patients received at least one of the second NKMRUDs. A total of 273 patients were administered with 487 times of the second NKMRUDs. Among them, 162 , 62 , and 49 patients were receiving one, two, and three or more agents, respectively. The most commonly prescribed second NKMRUDs were compound amino acids, budesonide, and ceftazidime. The total DDDs and DOTs of the second NKMRUDs were 3360.68 and 1819.80, respectively, with the PDDs of 1865.26. The deviations (80.17%) of DDDs from PDDs were significantly greater than those (-2.44%) of DOTs.
UNASSIGNED: The prevalence of the second NKMRUDs was obtained by using the adapted PPS methodology at a tertiary university hospital. The DOT indicator is found to more accurately reflect actual consumption than the DDD indicator for second NKMRUDs. It is recommended to use the DOT indicator to monitor second NKMRUDs.

This study investigated variability among four indicators for quantifying antimicrobial use in intensive care units (ICUs): defined daily doses (DDD), prescribed daily doses (PDD), duration of therapy (DOT), and length of therapy (LOT) and recommended the most clinically relevant approach. Retrospective data from patients who had received at least one antimicrobial was analyzed. Patients whose records were incomplete or expired were excluded. Duration of therapy (24433/1000 PDs) and LOTs (12832/1000 PDs) underestimated the overall consumption of antimicrobials compared with DDD of 28391/1000 PDs. Whereas PDD (46699/1000 PDs) overestimated it. Comparison analysis detected % differences of 13.94, 23.92, and 54.80% between DDD and DOT, DDD and PDD, and DDD and LOT, indicators respectively. Linear regression revealed stronger (r 2 = 0.86), moderate (r 2 = 0.50), and moderate (r 2 =0.60) correlation between DDD and DOT, DDD and PDD and DDD and LOT indicators respectively. According to findings, combining DOT and DDD is a more practical method to quantify antimicrobial consumption in hospital ICUs.
UNASSIGNED: Deshwal PR, Tiwari P. Investigating the Variability among Indicators for Quantifying Antimicrobial Use in the Intensive Care Units: Analysis of Real-world Evidence. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024;28(7):662-676.

OBJECTIVE: In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary results that later proved to be incorrect suggested the possible efficacy of anti-infective drugs such as azithromycin for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These preliminary data may have influenced the prescription of azithromycin. However, no individual-level data linking the use of this antibiotic to acute SARS-CoV-2 infection are available. The present analysis aims to fill this gap.
METHODS: A retrospective population-based cohort design was used including patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the period ranging from February 2020 to February 2022. The data source for antibiotic consumption was the drug database of outpatient prescriptions of Emilia-Romagna Region (Italy). Antibiotics were classified according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system. Consumption rates and percentages of azithromycin DDDs (defined daily doses) during the acute phase of the infection were compared with a previous control period and with the post-acute phase. Analyses were stratified by four groups according to the prevalent virus variant at time of diagnosis.
RESULTS: Comparing the previous control period with the acute phase of infections, the rates of azithromycin consumption (DDD per 1000 individuals per day) increased from 1.17 to 23.11, from 0.80 to 33.03, from 0.81 to 21.01, and from 1.02 to 9.76, in the pre-Alpha, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron periods, respectively. Similarly, the percentages of individuals receiving azithromycin, and the azithromycin DDDs percentages over total systemic antibiotics DDDs increased in acute phases of infection compared with control periods. The consumption rates and percentages returned to preinfection levels in the post-acute phase. In the study period, 12.9% of the use of azithromycin in the entire adult population of Emilia-Romagna was attributable to acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.
CONCLUSIONS: Considering the low likelihood of bacterial coinfections, the increased azithromycin consumption in the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection suggests inappropriate prescribing of this antibiotic.

OBJECTIVE: Accumulating evidence indicates that the use of antibiotics (ATBs) in cancer patients is potentially correlated with patient prognosis. Interestingly, the use of these agents is not uncommon in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients during surgery; however, their prognostic value in the clinic has never been addressed.
METHODS: Data on ATB use during surgery, including the cumulative defined daily dose (cDDD) and the number of categories, were collected. Differences in the clinical data between the low and high cDDD subgroups and between subgroups with ≤ 4 and >4 categories. Additionally, the disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) among these subgroups and the specific categories were compared. Finally, a Cox proportional hazard model was used to validate the risk factors for the outcome.
RESULTS: The number of categories, rather than the cDDD, was a significant predictor of both DFS (P = 0.043) and OS (P = 0.039). Patients with obstruction are more likely to have a high cDDD, whereas older patients are more likely to have multiple categories. There were no significant differences in the DFS (log rank = 1.36, P = 0.244) or OS (log rank = 0.40, P = 0.528) between patients in the low- and high-cDDD subgroups, whereas patients with ≤ 4 categories had superior DFS (log rank = 9.92, P = 0.002) and OS (log rank = 8.30, P = 0.004) compared with those with >4 categories. Specifically, the use of quinolones was harmful to survival (DFS: log rank = 3.67, P = 0.055; OS: log rank = 5.10, P = 0.024), whereas the use of macrolides was beneficial to survival (DFS: log rank = 12.26, P < 0.001; OS: log rank = 9.77, P = 0.002). Finally, the number of categories was identified as an independent risk factor for both DFS (HR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.35-3.11, P = 0.001) and OS (HR = 1.82, 95% CI: 1.14-2.90, P = 0.012).
CONCLUSIONS: The cDDD of ATBs during surgery in stage I-III CRC patients did not correlate with outcome; however, patients in multiple categories or a specific category are likely to have inferior survival. These results suggest that particular caution should be taken when selecting ATBs for these patients in the clinic.

Infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria are typically associated with high morbidity and mortality, especially in vulnerable individuals such as patients with prolonged hospitalizations, immunocompromised individuals, and the elderly. This study aimed to provide post-marketing surveillance results concerning the prevalence of antibiotic resistance against Gram-negative bacteria through the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team. Patients involved have been treated with new antibacterial drugs, in particular ceftazidime/avibactam (C/A), meropenem/vaborbactam (M/V), cefiderocol, and ceftolozane/tazobactam (C/T). The most resistant bacterial species were Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii. Italian Drug Agency (AIFA) monitoring records for inpatients have been collected and analyzed, assessing the characteristics of the patients involved. Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and drugs involved have been reported using a descriptive analytical approach. All data have been collected retrospectively from patient\'s medical records and entered into an electronic case report form (CRF). Among the 104 treated patients, Klebsiella spp. accounted for 50.1% of infections, Pseudomonas aeruginosa for 32.7%, Acinetobacter baumannii for 3%, and other bacterial species for 1.92% configuring polymicrobial infections. Regarding treatment outcomes, healing was achieved in 61 (58.6%) patients, 23 (22.1%) patients died, 8 (7.7%) patients discontinued empirical therapy, and 3 (2.9%) patients were lost to follow-up. Despite the introduction of new antibacterial drugs active against Gram-negative bacteria is improving the clinical scenario, it is crucial that the use of new antibacterial drugs be implemented by appropriate antimicrobial stewardship, surveillance programs, and monitoring efforts to prevent further spread of resistance. This study showed that the new antibiotics have good efficacy against MDR bacteria and cause negligible side effects.

UNASSIGNED: This study delves into the two-year opioid prescription trends in the Local Sanitary Agency Naples 3 South, Campania Region, Italy. The research aims to elucidate prescribing patterns, demographics, and dosage categories within a population representing 1.7% of the national total. Perspectives on artificial intelligence research are discussed.
UNASSIGNED: From the original dataset, spanning from January 2022 to October 2023, we processed multiple variables including demographic data, medications, dosages, drug consumption, and administration routes. The dispensing quantity was calculated as defined daily doses (DDD).
UNASSIGNED: The analysis reveals a conservative approach to opioid therapy. In subjects under the age of 20, prescriptions accounted for 2.1% in 2022 and declined to 1.4% in 2023. The drug combination paracetamol/codeine was the most frequently prescribed, followed by tapentadol. Approximately two-thirds of the consumption pertains to oral formulations. Transdermal formulations were 15% (fentanyl 9.8%, buprenorphine 5.1%) in 2022; and 16.6% (fentanyl 10%, buprenorphine 6.6%) in 2023. These data were confirmed by the DDD analysis. The trend analysis demonstrated a significant reduction ( p < 0.001) in the number of prescribed opioids from 2022 to 2023 in adults (40-69 years). The study of rapid-onset opioids (ROOs), drugs specifically used for breakthrough cancer pain, showed higher dosage (>267 mcg) consumption among women, whereas a lower dosage (<133 mcg) was calculated for men. Fentanyl pectin nasal spray accounted for approximately one-fifth of all ROOs.
UNASSIGNED: Despite limitations, the study provides valuable insights into prescribing practices involving an important study population. The findings underscore the need for tailored approaches to prescribing practices, recognizing the complexities of pain management in different contexts. This research can contribute to the ongoing discourse on opioid use, advocating for innovative strategies that optimize therapeutic outcomes while mitigating potential risks.

Antibiotic overprescribing is prevalent in pediatric emergency medicine, influenced by clinician-caregiver dynamics and diagnostic uncertainties, and poses substantial risks such as increasing antibacterial resistance, adverse drug reactions, and increased healthcare expenditures. While antimicrobial stewardship programs have proven effective in optimizing antibiotic use within inpatient healthcare settings, their implementation in pediatric emergency medicine presents specific challenges. Existing biomarkers like white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and presepsin have limitations in their ability to distinguish (serious) bacterial infections from other etiologies of fever. Furthermore, rapid antigen detection tests and guidelines aimed at guiding antibiotic prescriptions for children have not consistently reduced unnecessary antibiotic use. To improve antibiotic prescribing practices, potential strategies include the utilization of decision support tools, audit and feedback, establishing follow-up procedures, implementing safety netting systems, and delivering comprehensive training and supervision. Notably, host genome signatures have also gained attention for their potential to facilitate rapid and precise diagnoses of inflammatory syndromes. Standardized metrics are crucial for evaluating antimicrobial use within pediatric healthcare settings, enabling the establishment of benchmarks for assessing antibiotic utilization, quality enhancement initiatives, and research endeavors.

BACKGROUND: Carbapenems are antibiotics used for serious infections. The consumption of carbapenems has increased worldwide due to increasing microbial resistance.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of a carbapenem-restricted antimicrobial stewardship programme (ASP) on changes in the resistance profiles of infectious agents, the amount of antibiotics used, length of stay in the intensive care unit (ICU), mortality, and costs.
METHODS: Patients hospitalized in ICU between July 1st, 2020 and May 1st, 2021 were divided into two periods: the carbapenem-non-restricted period (CNRP); and the carbapenem-restricted period (CRP) in which alternative antibiotics to carbapenems were preferred during infection. The defined daily dose (DDD) per 100 patient-day methodology was used to calculate the antibiotic consumption.
RESULTS: Of the 572 patients included in the study, 62.2% were male, and mean age was 70.5 years. In the blood culture the most frequently Gram-negative agent was Acinetobacter baumannii (25%). A. baumannii bloodstream infections with multidrug-resistant and extensively drug resistant micro-organisms were significantly different between the two periods (CNRP: 95.6% (N = 22), CRP: 66.6% (N = 8); P = 0.04). There was a gradual decrease in the incidence density and rate of nosocomial infection (P = 0.06), and a significant decrease in meropenem consumption between the two periods (CNRP vs CRP: 21.19 vs 6.37 DDD per 100 patient-days respectively; P = 0.007). ASP yielded US$8,600 of antibiotic cost savings and a total of 14% patient cost savings (P < 0.05) per patient.
CONCLUSIONS: Combining an effective ASP with a comprehensive infection control programme may mitigate the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.