How are antibiotics currently prescribed in Switzerland?

Around 85% of antibiotics are prescribed in the outpatient sector. The use of antibiotics in human medicine in Switzerland is quite low in an international comparison. The prescribing practice shows that there is still a need for improvement.

For example, even though they may not be indicated by the clinical evidence:

  • fluoroquinolones are prescribed in more than 19 percent of lower urinary tract infections
  • in acute bronchitis (44 percent of prescriptions for lower respiratory tract infections), antibiotics are still prescribed too often

Number of prescriptions for different classes of antibiotic issued by GPs for the main infections, 2021
Number of prescriptions for different classes of antibiotic per 100'000 inhabitants issued by GPs for the main infections, 2021. Source: ANRESIS/FOPH, Sentinella reporting system

In paediatrics too, there is still potential for improvement when it comes to selecting antibiotics:

  • Around 70 percent of antibiotic prescriptions for children are for upper respiratory tract infections. The recommended (simple) penicillins or aminopenicillins are not always used in these cases.
  • Macrolides, which have a problematic profile as regards selection of resistance, are probably used too often for treating respiratory tract infections.
     
Number of prescriptions for different classes of antibiotic issued by paediatricians for the main infections, 2021
Number of prescriptions for different classes of antibiotic per 100'000 inhabitants issued by paediatricians for the main infections, 2021. Source: ANRESIS/FOPH, Sentinella reporting system

Further information

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Last modification 23.09.2024

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Federal Office of Public Health FOPH
Division Communicable Diseases
Infection Control and Control Measures Section
Schwarzenburgstrasse 157
3003 Bern
Switzerland
Tel. +41 58 463 87 06
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https://www.bag.admin.ch/content/bag/en/home/krankheiten/infektionskrankheiten-bekaempfen/antibiotikaresistenzen/wie-werden-heute-in-der-schweiz-antibiotika-verschrieben.html