Hoxha Iris, Godman Brian, Malaj Admir, Meyer Johanna C
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine Tirana, 1001 Tirana, Albania.
Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK.
Antibiotics (Basel). 2023 May 9;12(5):882. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics12050882.
There are growing concerns with rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across countries. These concerns are enhanced by the increasing and inappropriate utilization of 'Watch' antibiotics with their greater resistance potential, AMR is further exacerbated by the increasing use of antibiotics to treat patients with COVID-19 despite little evidence of bacterial infections. Currently, little is known about antibiotic utilization patterns in Albania in recent years, including the pandemic years, the influence of an ageing population, as well as increasing GDP and greater healthcare governance. Consequently, total utilization patterns in the country were tracked from 2011 to 2021 alongside key indicators. Key indicators included total utilization as well as changes in the use of 'Watch' antibiotics. Antibiotic consumption fell from 27.4 DIDs (defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day) in 2011 to 18.8 DIDs in 2019, which was assisted by an ageing population and improved infrastructures. However, there was an appreciable increase in the use of 'Watch' antibiotics during the study period. Their utilization rose from 10% of the total utilization among the top 10 most utilized antibiotics (DID basis) in 2011 to 70% by 2019. Antibiotic utilization subsequently rose after the pandemic to 25.1 DIDs in 2021, reversing previous downward trends. Alongside this, there was increasing use of 'Watch' antibiotics, which accounted for 82% (DID basis) of the top 10 antibiotics in 2021. In conclusion, educational activities and antimicrobial stewardship programs are urgently needed in Albania to reduce inappropriate utilization, including 'Watch' antibiotics, and hence AMR.
各国对抗菌素耐药性（AMR）不断上升的担忧日益加剧。随着“监测”类抗生素使用的增加且使用不当，其耐药性潜力更大，这加剧了这些担忧。尽管几乎没有细菌感染的证据，但用于治疗新冠肺炎患者的抗生素使用增加，进一步加剧了AMR。目前，人们对阿尔巴尼亚近年来（包括疫情期间）的抗生素使用模式、老龄化人口的影响以及国内生产总值增长和医疗治理改善情况知之甚少。因此，对该国2011年至2021年的总使用模式以及关键指标进行了跟踪。关键指标包括总使用量以及“监测”类抗生素使用的变化。抗生素消费量从2011年的27.4 DIDs（每1000居民每天的限定日剂量）降至2019年的18.8 DIDs，老龄化人口和基础设施改善起到了推动作用。然而，在研究期间，“监测”类抗生素的使用有明显增加。其使用率从2011年最常用的10种抗生素（按DID计算）总使用量的10%上升到2019年的70%。疫情后，抗生素使用量随后上升至2021年的25.1 DIDs，扭转了此前的下降趋势。与此同时，“监测”类抗生素的使用也在增加，在2021年占十大抗生素的82%（按DID计算）。总之，阿尔巴尼亚迫切需要开展教育活动和抗菌药物管理计划，以减少包括“监测”类抗生素在内的不当使用，从而降低AMR。
