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Trends in Antibiotic Use in France

The French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (ANSM) recently published a report in January 2017 on trends in antibiotic use in France between 2000 and 2015.In the early 2000s, the rise in bacterial resistance led France—like many other countries—to implement measures promoting reduced and more appropriate use of antibiotics in order to preserve their effectiveness. These measures resulted in a decrease in antibiotic consumption, both in outpatient settings and in hospitals. However, this decline was not sustained. For several years, the ANSM has observed a trend toward an uptick, which the 2015 results confirm. The high incidence of winter illnesses in 2015 must of course be taken into account, but it can only partially explain the observed increase. Taken as a whole, these results show that prescribing habits and behaviors can be changed. Although France remains among the countries with high consumption levels, it is no longer—in the outpatient sector—the leading consumer of antibiotics in Europe, as was the case in the early 2000s. In 2015, it ranked fourth in the outpatient sector. In hospitals, French consumption is now close to the European average. Nevertheless, significant progress remains to be made to promote the proper use of antibiotics and limit their consumption.

Key figuresBetween 2000 and 2015, antibiotic consumption fell by 11.4% in France, but it has risen by 5.4% since 2010 following an 18.9% decline between 2000 and 2004. This increase stems from the outpatient sector, as consumption in hospitals has stabilized. In terms of volume, 93% of antibiotic consumption comes from the outpatient sector and 7% from hospitals.In both hospitals and the outpatient sector, penicillins are the most commonly used class of antibiotics. In 2015, generic antibiotics accounted for 84.5% of antibiotic consumption in the outpatient sector.In 2015, 76.5% of prescriptions indicated a treatment duration of between 5 and 8 days (the average was 9.2 days and the median was 6 days). 67% of outpatient prescriptions were for respiratory conditions, 42% for ENT conditions, and 25% for lower respiratory tract conditions.