Antimicrobial consumption and influenza incidence monthly trends in 2014 at the community level in Poland

The surveillance of antimicrobial usage reveals areas of overuse and misuse and helps identify vulnerable regions, sectors, and seasons.This facilitates the planning of interventions aimed at antibiotic resistance control.The aim of this study was to characterize seasonal trends in AC in 2014 at the community level in Poland and to assess the possible relation between the AC and incidence of influenza. PATIENTS AND METHODSThis study focused on the community (outpatient) sector, although total and hospital consumption levels were also calculated to indicate the overall AC in Poland.Data on AC were provided through the courtesy of Quintiles IMS, a company monitoring the pharmaceutical INTRODUCTION Antibiotic resistance is currently one of the top global health concerns. 1-5There are several reasons for this phenomenon, but the main driving factors are the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials. 6,7It was shown that the higher the antimicrobial consumption (AC), the higher the proportion of resistant pathogens. 8,9A striking example of antibiotic misuse at the community level, a phenomenon contributing to emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance, is the high prescription rate of antibiotics for respiratory tract infections (RTIs), caused mainly by viruses. 10-12The lack of knowledge that antibiotics do not act on viruses may result in inappropriate antibiotic use. 13,14 The strategies to prevent development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance are complex and require