Influence of prescription patterns in general practice on anti-microbial resistance in Norway

Background. The global pandemic of antibiotic resistance is causing conside rable concern, and a major reason for the growing world-wide resistance pro blem is the overuse of anti-infective drugs, especially the use of broad sp ectrum antibiotics. This is still a relatively minor problem in most of the Nordic countries where the consumption of antibiotics is less than half of that reported from southern Europe and the United States of America (USA). Aim. To describe the resistance pattern among common respiratory tract path ogens in Norwegian general practice, the national consumption of antibiotic s, and GPs' prescription patterns for respiratory tract infections. To offe r some suggestions as to why Norway has maintained a favourable situation r egarding resistant microbes during the past 10 years. Method. An analysis of the prescription patterns in Norwegian general pract ice. Results. There is a low total prescription volume of antibiotics compared w ith other countries. Penicillin V is the most commonly used antibiotic for the most common airway diseases in general practice in Norway. Conclusion. Although there is a low prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Norway, there is still a great potential for reducing the unnecessary antib iotic prescribing for the most common respiratory illnesses.