Oral antibiotic prescription in ambulatory care in 1999--a contribution to the development of methods for drug consumption and prescription surveillance monitoring.

The aim of the study was to estimate the consumption of antibiotic in ambulatory care. Oral antibiotic consumption in 1999 was analyzed in four pharmacies in the Zagreb area. The use of oral antibiotics in comparison with total drug consumption, the share of individual subclasses of oral antibiotics and the respective shares of individual products were also analyzed. The results obtained were expressed in terms of both the defined daily doses (DDD) and US$, and were compared with available national and international data. The study demonstrated a high share of oral antibiotics in the overall drug consumption, especially of newer and more expensive agents within individual subclasses of antibiotics. Further research is required to assess the rationale of such prescribing practices, especially in view of the current financial pressure on the Croatian health care system.