XN000022-1997-01-29 — Page 54

(b)

(c)

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whether the authorities concerned have any mechanism to assess whether the prescription of antibiotics to such patients by medical officers is appropriate; if so, of the percentage of cases in the past three years in which the prescription of antibiotics was found to be inappropriate; if not, why not; and

whether the authorities concerned have monitored the drug resistance of bacteria arising from the inappropriate prescription of antibiotics; if so, of the extent of the increase in drug resistance of common bacteria according to the data obtained by the past ten years?

Reply:

Statistics are not readily available on the number of cases involving patients suffering from influenza or common cold who sought treatment at our public hospitals or general out-patient clinics.

Apart from professional training on the appropriate use of antibiotics, frontline medical staff are provided with expert assistance from the pathologists/microbiologists or infection control committees affiliated with their respective institutions. All major public hospitals also conduct regular surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility on bacterial isolates, the outcome of which is promulgated widely through newsletters, departmental seminars and periodic reports to promote good prescription practice.

The Drug and Therapeutic Committee or a similar functioning committee has been set up at each hospital to review and advise on proper use of antibiotics, to assess the need for inclusion of new antibiotics in the prescription list, as well as to formulate prescription policies and practices. Furthermore, the Central Drug Utilisation Review Committee in the Hospital Authority Head Office promotes efficacious use of drug through utilisation reviews and publication of a drug bulletin providing education and feedback to clinicians on the proper use of drugs, including antibiotics.

The outcome of surveillance in recent years has revealed increased antibiotic resistance for common pathogens to some older antibiotics which is in line with overseas experience. However, this problem can be managed by the use of new antibiotics or combination of antimicrobial chemotherapy. Inappropriate prescription of antibiotics is only one of the many known causes for the emergence of drug resistant bacteria.

End