Page 3: Human Antimicrobial Use Report – 2014 - Changes in the 2014 Report

Changes in the 2014 Report

  • Outpatient prescribing data were obtained from the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada in 2014. These data describe antimicrobials dispensed through pharmacies and claimed to the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program, which is accessible to First Nations and Inuit peoples in Canada. Provincial and territorial-level information were provided by FNIHB; data from the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut were combined. These data therefore provide an estimate of antimicrobial use for the territories, where these estimates were previously unavailable. Antimicrobial use data for NIHB enrolees residing in the provinces continue to be captured by the pharmacy dispensation database. Population counts for NIHB enrolees residing in the territories were also provided by NIHB in order to calculate rates for the territories. More information on methods for the inclusion of NIHB data into the pharmacy dispensation dataset can be found in Appendix A.
  • Updates to the census estimates and data cleaning performed for the 2014 report resulted in slight changes from measures displayed in previous reports. This cleaning affected all years of data. Therefore, it is suggested that the 2014 values override those presented in previous reports.
  • Tables and figures have been limited to data from 2004 to 2014 for clarity. If you require data prior to 2004, please submit a data request through the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS, refer to page i).
  • Antimicrobials were classified as "drugs of interest for resistant infections" (DIRI) using the methodology described in the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS) – Report 2015Footnote d  for drugs of "last recourse". Using this methodology, 12 antimicrobials were assigned to having DIRI classification: amikacin, colistin, daptomycin, ertapenem, fosfomycin, gentamicin, imipenem, linezolid, meropenem, piperacillin-tazobactam, tobramycin, tigecycline, and vancomycin. These drugs are highlighted in tables by an asterisk in the "DIRI" column.

Abbreviations of Provinces/Regions

BC
British Columbia
AB
Alberta
SK
Saskatchewan
MB
Manitoba
ON
Ontario
QC
Québec
NB
New Brunswick
PEI
Prince Edward Island
NL
Newfoundland and Labrador
NS
Nova Scotia
TE
Territories
West
BC, AB, SK and MB
Central
ON and QC
East
NB, NS, PEI, and NL

General Abbreviations

CARSS
Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System
CCS
Canadian CompuScript (Community dispensation data)
CDH
Canadian Drugstore and Hospital Purchases Audit (Hospital purchasing data)
CDTI
Canadian Disease and Therapeutic Index (Physician Recommendation data)
DDDs
Defined daily doses
DIRI
Drugs of interest for resistant infections
NR
Not recommended
NIHB
Non-Insured Health Benefits (Community dispensation data for First Nations and Inuit populations in Canada)
Rx
Prescription

Conventions Used

  • Ranking in tables – ranking is based upon the overall use of products in 2014, by the measure displayed in the table. Lowest numbers indicate high usage.
  • Antimicrobials are not listed in tables if they represent <0.5% of use by the measure indicated in the title. Data for these antimicrobials are included in the totals however. Therefore, adding values within the rows in tables will not produce the final total given in the bottom row, as these low-use products have been removed to improve clarity.

References

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