title: [Impact of regulatory measures in the trends of community consumption of antibiotics in Chile].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The indiscriminate use of antibiotics increases the appearance of bacterial resistance and forces the use of more expensive alternatives. The Chilean Ministry of Health is regulating the consumption of antibiotics since September 1999. These regulatory measures restricted the sale of antibiotics only when these were prescribed by an MD or an DS.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the impact of these regulatory measures on antibiotics sales in pharmacies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective analysis of antibiotics sales in pharmacies from 1996 to 2000. The information was obtained from the International Marketing System (IMS Health), an auditing system of pharmacy sales. The consumption unit used was the Defined Daily Dose per 1000 inhabitants/day (DDD).
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was an important reduction in DDD, after the introduction of regulatory measures, for amoxicillin, ampicillin, erythromycin, trimethoprim/sulpha, chroramphenicol, cloxacillin and phenoxymethylpenicillin. There was also a important fall in sales, expressed in dollars.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The regulatory measures of the Ministry of Health, had an immediate and great impact on antibiotics sales in Chile.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Infectología, Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital Dr. Gustavo Fricke, Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos, Instituto de Seguridad del Trabajo, Escuela de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bavestrello
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cabello
authors.forename: Dunny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Casanova
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002677:Chile; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D007880:Legislation, Drug; D010594:Pharmacies; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents