Daily defined dose-costs have a stronger influence on antibacterial drug prescriptions in Germany than bacterial resistance: economic factors are more important than scientific evidence.

ABSTRACT: Previous research from our group revealed a strong association between daily defined dose (DDD)-costs and -prescriptions of antibacterial drugs in Germany ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38842562/ ; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39042156/ ). These data indicate that low costs are major driver of high prescription numbers. This study examines the relationship between bacterial resistance and DDD-prescriptions of antibacterial drugs using data from the Arzneiverordnungsreport (AVR) from 2008 to 2022 and the Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance (ARS) statistics provided by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). We hypothesized that semi-rational or irrational prescribing behavior of antibacterial drugs is evident in Germany, i.e., prescriptions are driven to a greater extents by low DDD-costs tha

SUBMITTER: Bindel LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11920358 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature