NEW data released by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has revealed that the use of antibiotics has dropped markedly in Australian hospitals, down by 7.6% between 2011 and 2015.
The report says this indicates that efforts to encourage more appropriate use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs is having a positive effect.
The latest report, Antimicrobial Use in Australian Hospitals, is the 2015 annual report of the National Antimicrobial Utilisation Surveillance Program (NAUSP).
Twenty antibacterials accounted for 93% of those dispensed in Australian hospitals in 2015.
These were amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefazolin, amoxicillin, flucloxacillin, doxycycline, cefalexin, piperacillin--tazobactam, ceftriaxone, metronidazole, azithromycin, benzylpenicillin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, vancomycin, sulfamethoxazole--trimethoprim, meropenem, trimethoprim, roxithromycin, clindamycin, and clarithromycin.
Visit www.safetyandquality.gov.au for the report release and accompanying infographic.
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