Essential and forgotten antibiotics: An inventory in low- and middle-income countries



Tebano, Gianpiero, Li, Grace, Beovic, Bojana, Bielicki, Julia, Brink, Adrian, Enani, Mushira A, Godman, Brian ORCID: 0000-0001-6539-6972, Hinrichsen, Sylvia Lemos, Kibuule, Dan, Gabriel, Levy-Hara
et al (show 6 more authors) (2019) Essential and forgotten antibiotics: An inventory in low- and middle-income countries. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS, 54 (3). pp. 273-282.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>The World Health Organization Essential Medicines List (WHO-EML) includes 'access' antibiotics, judged essential to treat common infections. The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Study Group for Antimicrobial Stewardship defined a list of 'forgotten' antibiotics, some old and often off-patent antibiotics, which have particular value for specific indications.<h4>Objective</h4>To investigate which WHO-EML 'access' and 'forgotten' antibiotics are approved at national level in a sample of low- to middle-income countries (LMICs).<h4>Methods</h4>The Scientific Committee used a consensus procedure to select 26 WHO-EML 'access' and 15 'forgotten' antibiotics. Paediatric formulations were explored for 14 antibiotics. An internet-based questionnaire was circulated to 40 LMIC representatives. Antibiotics were defined as approved if an official drug regulatory agency and/or the national ministry of health licensed their use, making them, at least theoretically, available on the market.<h4>Results</h4>Twenty-eight LMICs (11 in Africa, 11 in Asia and six in America) were surveyed. Nine WHO-EML 'access' antibiotics (amoxicillin, ampicillin, benzylpenicillin, ceftriaxone, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, gentamicin and metronidazole) were approved in all countries, and all 26 'access' antibiotics were approved in more than two-thirds of countries. Among the 15 'forgotten' antibiotics, only one was approved in more than two-thirds of countries. The median number of approved antibiotics per country was 30 (interquartile range 23-35). Six of 14 paediatric formulations (amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, oral antistaphylococcal penicillin, cotrimoxazole, erythromycin and metronidazole) were approved in more than two-thirds of countries.<h4>Conclusions</h4>WHO-EML 'access' antibiotics and the most frequently used formulations for paediatrics were approved in the vast majority of the 28 surveyed LMICs. This was not the case for many of the 'forgotten' antibiotics, despite their important role, particularly in areas with high prevalence of multi-drug-resistant bacteria.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Access, Antibiotic access, Low- and middle-income countries, Antibiotic stewardship, Survey
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Jul 2019 14:59
Last Modified: 25 Jan 2024 02:14
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2019.06.017
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3048883