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Title
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European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC): data collection performance and methodological approach
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Author
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Abstract
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| Background Europe is a continent with strong public healthcare systems, but diverging antibiotic policies and resistance patterns. Aims To describe the performance and methodological approach in a retrospective data collection effort (19972001), through an international network of surveillance systems, aiming to collect publicly available, comparable and reliable data on antibiotic use in Europe. Methods A central multidisciplinary management team co-ordinated a network of national representatives, liasing with national data providers and bodies responsible for antibiotic policy. The data collected were screened for bias, using a checklist. We focused on detection bias in sample and census data; errors in assigning medicinal product packages to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification (ATC); errors in calculations of defined daily doses (DDD) per package; bias by over-the-counter sales and parallel trade; and bias in ambulatory care (AC)/hospital care (HC) mix. Datasets were corrected after national feedback, and classified as valid; valid but with minor bias; not valid. Results Of the 31 participating countries, 21 countries delivered AC data suitable for cross-national comparison (14 for all 5 years). Of these, 17 countries provided data on a quarterly basis for at least 1 year. For HC, 14 countries were able to deliver valid data (nine for all 5 years). A valid estimate of the total exposure of national populations to human antibiotic consumption could be made in 17 countries. Conclusion In cross-national comparisons of antibiotic consumption in Europe, methodological rigour in correcting for various sources of bias and checking the validity of ATC/DDD assignment is needed. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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British journal of clinical pharmacology. - London
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Publication
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London
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2004
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ISSN
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0306-5251
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DOI
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10.1111/J.1365-2125.2004.02164.X
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Volume/pages
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58
:4
(2004)
, p. 419-428
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ISI
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000223953000011
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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