| pubmed-article:2621172 | pubmed:abstractText | Cephalosporin and aminoglycoside utilization in Hong Kong during 1984, 1985 and 1986, were evaluated from wholesale data and compared with corresponding Swedish statistics and with UK data from a survey of non-hospital prescriptions. Details regarding each drug and category were collated, adjusted for population and if appropriate expressed as defined daily doses (DDDs)/1000 inhabitants/day. With respect to cephalosporins: (a) overall sales (especially those of the newer and more expensive parenteral drugs) were increasing; (b) parenteral sales were much larger in Hong Kong hospitals than in the community (up to about 106 versus 16 kg/million inhabitants/year respectively), but in Sweden they were comparable (up to about 38 and 41 kg/million inhabitants/year respectively); (c) non-hospital oral utilization appeared greater in the UK than in Sweden and Hong Kong (up to about 0.7, 0.4 and 0.4 DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day respectively); (d) oral sales to hospitals were greater in Hong Kong than Sweden (up to 0.3 compared to 0.1 DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day respectively) and (e) oral paediatric formulations (liquids) were most popular in Hong Kong, a higher proportion of children in Hong Kong being one possible reason. Non-hospital sales of gentamicin and kanamycin in Hong Kong were much greater than in Sweden (up to about 0.20 and 0.06 vs. 0.01 and 0.00 DDDs/1000 inhabitants/day respectively), whereas UK utilization appeared almost non-existent. Topical neomycin sales in Hong Kong were much more popular than in Sweden (up to about 60 vs. 9 g/million inhabitants/day). These regional differences in antibiotic utilization may be related to respective health care systems (and thus the affordability and availability of drugs) and prescribing preferences (cultural and/or promoted by drug companies), quite apart from possible differences in drug efficacy, drug tolerance and the prevalence and severity of various infections. | lld:pubmed |
