Vol.57 No.5 September 2009
Issues in defined daily dose for calculating antimicrobial use density in Japan
1)Department of Pharmacy, Kitakyushu City Yahata Hospital, 4-18-1 Nishihonmachi, Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
2)Department of Internal Medicine, Kitakyushu City Yahata Hospital
3)Department of Surgery, Kitakyushu City Yahata Hospital
Abstract
Antimicrobial use density(AUD) is a widely used indicator for measuring antimicrobial use in the hospital setting. Defined daily doses(DDD) set by the World Health Organization(WHO) are used for calculating AUD. Discrepancies among countries in antimicrobial dosage, however, bring into question DDD appropriateness. We compared total antimicrobial use divided by DDD (total amount/DDD, incorporated into the equation for calculating AUD) to actual total treatment days in 1 month and surveyed average prescribed daily doses(PDD) for 7 antimicrobials over a period of 5 years at Kitakyushu City Yahata Hospital. We found a marked, statistically significant difference in antimicrobial DDD and average PDD and in the total amount/DDD and total treatment days. Our findings indicate that the degree of difference between DDD and PDD affects the number of AUD, making it necessary for DDD to be determined based on antimicrobial use in Japan before AUD can be evaluated appropriately.
Key word
antimicrobial use density, defined daily dose, daily dose
Received
February 10, 2009
Accepted
July 3, 2009
Jpn. J. Chemother. 57 (5): 430-433, 2009
