title: [Regulations governing the dispensing of medications and their effect on antibiotic consumption in Venezuela].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Determine the variations in consumption trends for regulated and unregulated antibiotics in Venezuela in the period before (2005) and after (2006-2008) the regulation of prescription sales was introduced.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information on antibiotic consumption in Venezuela was obtained from the data provided by International Marketing Services. Consumption was expressed in daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) were performed, with a 95% confidence interval, to identify the differences between the periods studied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The regulated antibiotics with the highest consumption were ciprofloxacin and azithromycin. The classes of unregulated antibiotics with the highest consumption were penicillins and first-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, diaminopyridine-sulfonamides, and tetracyclines. Total consumption in the categories of antibiotics with unregulated dispensing was twice as high as in the categories with regulated sales, both before and after introduction of the regulation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were no statistically significant differences in antibiotic consumption with regulated or unregulated dispensing, either before or after the introduction of measures regulating the dispensing of antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Central de Venezuela, Facultad de Ciencias, Instituto de Biología Experimental, Laboratorio de Biología de Plásmidos, Caracas, Venezuela.
authors.forename: Phenélope
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rivas
authors.forename: Guillermina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alonso
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D057970:Inappropriate Prescribing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014687:Venezuela
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents