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Exceptional advances have been made with systemic treatment for psoriasis (PSO). However, that disease still represents a heavy burden in terms of impact on healthcare systems worldwide. This study comprehensively assesses medication adherence in a real world setting in Italy across all phases—initiation, implementation, and persistence—of PSO therapies. By distinguishing between switches and swaps, it provides unique insights into the patient's own approach to prescribed therapy as well as clinical decision-making processes, enhancing our understanding of medication adherence and discontinuation in a real world daily setting. The study's refined methodology for assessing persistence, considering variations in refill gaps and complex dosing regimens, shows that anti-interleukin (IL) therapies are associated with longer periods of adherence compared with other available therapeutic strategies. Among the selected drugs, ixekizumab and secukinumab were the ones with higher rate of treatment adherence at the expense of anti-TNF-α and anti-PDE4 agents. Notably, patients who opt for swaps are approximately 2.8 times more likely to discontinue their PSO therapy within one year. These findings carry practical implications for optimizing medication adherence, including tailored patient counseling, monitoring, and therapeutic adjustments, highlighting the need for a comprehensive and patient-centered approach to managing these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical imaging is required for a complete clinical evaluation to identify lung involvement or pulmonary embolism during SARS-CoV-2 infection or pulmonary and cardiovascular sequelae. Contrast media (CM) have undoubtedly been useful in clinical practice due to their ability to improve medical imaging in COVID-19 patients. Considering their important use, especially in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and that increased use of a medical tool could also be associated with its deeper knowledge, we chose to explore if new information emerged regarding CM safety profiles. We analyzed all Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) validated by Campania Pharmacovigilance Regional Centre from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021 and reported a CM (ATC code V08) as a suspected drug. We compared CM-related reporting between 2 years before (period 1) and 2 years during (period 2) the COVID-19 pandemic. From our analysis, it emerged that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, CM-related ADR reporting decreased, but a significant increase in reporting of serious cases emerged. Serious ADRs were mainly related to iodinated CM (V08A ATC) compared to magnetic resonance imaging CM (V08C ATC). Cutaneous and respiratory disorders were the most frequently reported in both periods. No new or unknown ADRs were reported in the overall study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of quinolones has been associated with the development of serious and persistent adverse drug reaction (ADR) mainly affecting muscles, joints and the nervous system. This risk has led the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to endorse some restrictions on the use of this class of antibiotic. Therefore, we performed a study to primary estimate the reporting probability of musculoskeletal, neurological, and psychiatric ADRs among quinolone generations using national data. Methods: We retrieved Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) with a quinolone as suspected drug among those reported through the Campania spontaneous reporting system from January 1st, 2001 to April 30th 2019. Moreover, we retrieved national aggregated safety data from the online public report system (RAM system) for the period from January 1st, 2002 to March 31st, 2019. Risk factors were classified as "age greater than 60 years," "therapeutic indication," "renal failure," "organ transplantation," "use of corticosteroid," and "history of side effects". Reporting odds ratio (ROR) was computed to evaluate the reporting probability of musculoskeletal, neurological, or psychiatric events among quinolones generations. Results: A total of 87 ICSRs with a quinolone as suspected drug that reported at least one musculoskeletal, neurological, and psychiatric adverse event were identified in the Campania spontaneous reporting system. Forty-nine (56.3%) ICSRs reported risk factors (total risk factors 59). The most reported risk factor was "age greater than 60 years" (69.5%), followed by "therapeutic indication" (16.9%), "renal failure" (5.1%), "organ transplantation" (3.4%), "use of corticosteroid" (3.4%), and "history of side effects" (1.7%). Second-generation quinolones were associated with a lower reporting probability of musculoskeletal (ROR 0.70; 95% CI 0.63–0.79), neurological (ROR 0.81; 95% CI 0.73–0.90), and psychiatric (ROR 0.55; 95% CI 0.44–0.63) ADRs compared to the third generation of quinolones. Conclusions: Our findings showed that third-generation quinolones were always associated with a higher reporting probability of musculoskeletal, neurological, and psychiatric ADRs compared to the second generation ones. Moreover, we described risk factors in more than half of our cases suggesting that the inappropriate use of quinolones is a phenomenon that may frequently predispose patients to the occurrence of these ADRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathological gambling has been reported as a direct complication of Parkinson's disease and its pharmacological treatment based on dopamine agonists. Moreover, further medications (not dopamine agonists) were associated to the occurrence of gambling disorder. We aim to analyze the spontaneous reports of gambling disorder on the whole Italian territory with a focus on Campania Region (Southern Italy) from January 1st 2002 to July 31st 2018. We analyzed gambling disorder's reports across the 2002-2018 period in the Italian spontaneous reporting database (Rete Nazionale di Farmacovigilanza-RNF), with a focus on Campania region. 94 suspected cases of gambling disorder associated to apomorphine, aripiprazole, cabergoline, levodopa, levodopa and derivatives in association with entacapone/benserazide and carbidopa, pergolide, pramipexole, ropinirole, and rotigotine were reported into the RNF. Of these cases, two related to pramipexole and one to aripiprazole were sent to Campania Pharmacovigilance Regional Centre. Although it is widely recognized that dopamine agonists may induce behavioral disorders, Parkinson's disease is itself associated to pathological gambling, compulsive shopping and eating. Since our results could not clarify the correlation between Parkinson's disease, its pharmacological treatment and pathological gambling, in order to better define this correlation there is a need to conduct further ad hoc observational studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Allopurinol can induce severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), including Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome, Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). Aims and Methods: We analyzed the Individual Case Safety Reports (ICSRs) sent from January 2001 until April 2019 to the Campania regional Center of Pharmacovigilance (Southern Italy) that reported allopurinol as suspected, with a focus on those reporting at least one serious cutaneous adverse drug reaction (ADR). This study was aimed to describe the main characteristics of all ADRs associated with allopurinol, analyze the proportion of serious cutaneous ADRs of total ICSRs related to allopurinol and to compare the main features (age, sex, seriousness and outcome) of ICSRs that reported serious cutaneous ADRs with those that did not. Results: The Campania regional Center of Pharmacovigilance received 108 ICSRs that reported allopurinol as suspected. ADRs occurred more frequently in the elderly (median age: 71 years) and female patients (53.7%). Fifty-seven percent of all ADRs were classified as serious and 58% had a favorable outcome. Fifty-six ICSRs reported at least one serious cutaneous ADR; among these ICSRs, 37 cases of SCARs were found [DRESS syndrome (n = 3; 5.4%), SJS (n = 8; 14.3%) and TEN (n = 26; 46.4%)]. Serious cutaneous ADRs commonly occurred in the elderly (median age: 73 years) and female patients (62.5%). They frequently required hospitalization (75%) and had an unfavorable outcome (46%). No statistically significant differences were found between ICSRs that reported serious cutaneous ADRs and ICSRs that did not report serious cutaneous ADRs except for the seriousness degree "Hospitalization or its prolongation" and the outcome degrees "Unfavorable" and "Favorable". Conclusion: This study found that 52% (56/108) of all ICSRs having allopurinol as a suspected drug were serious cutaneous ADRs. Serious cutaneous ADRs associated with allopurinol frequently required hospitalization or prolonged hospitalization, and almost half had an unfavorable outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: The use of contrast media in Italy has exponentially increased in the past 3 decades. However, it is unknown whether there has been an increase in clinical research evaluating the risks associated with contrast media usage, especially regarding contrast-induced nephropathy. To fill this gap in knowledge, we performed a systematic review.Study eligibility criteria: Meta-analyses, observational studies, and clinical trials assessing contrast media-induced nephropathy as the safety outcome, in which at least one author was affiliated with an Italian university/health care structure, were eligble.Data sources: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Cochrane Methodology Register, and Web of Science were screened.Participants: Men and women exposed to contrast media.Results: In total, 60 original articles were retrieved with an incremental trend between 1990 and 2017. Cohort studies were the most common study design represented. In total, 45 of 60 (75.0%) studies were monocenter studies and 41 of 60 (68.3%) received no funding. In all, 91.7% of studies disclosed no conflicts of interest and 81.7% had no external collaboration. Most of the studies provided a level of evidence of III-2 (32/60; 53.3%) and II (23/60; 38.3%). In total, 50 of 60 studies (83.3%) were published in a scientific journal ranked in the first quartile of their subject area.Conclusion: There was an increased number of studies evaluating contrast-induced nephropathy in Italy during the last three decades. These studies covered procedures to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy or aimed to identify risk factors, biomarkers, and scores, and their related prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Available guidelines on therapeutic drug monitoring of second-generation antipsychotics were designed for adults; therefore, they cannot be transferred as such in pediatric patients, who may have different drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. Moreover, available tools that guide dosing in neuropsychiatric pediatric patients are scant, leading to the possibility of reduced efficacy and/or increased risks of toxicity. Here we describe the results of observational therapeutic drug monitoring conducted in three pediatric neuropsychiatry units across Italy in 2012-2014, with the following aims: (1) to describe the distribution of plasma concentrations of second-generation antipsychotics in our pediatric patients and (2) to identify clinical covariates associated with plasma drug levels. Methods: Five hundred fifty-six plasma trough concentrations of the second-generation antipsychotics risperidone (plus 9-hydroxy-risperidone), aripiprazole, olanzapine, and quetiapine were measured from 172 pediatric outpatients overall. The distribution of drug concentrations was described and correlated with drug doses and clinical variables. Results: Risperidone plasma levels were lower than in adults (median 13.6 ng/ml), with a high inter-patient (78.9 %) but lower intra-patient (34.2 %) variability. In multiple regression analyses, risperidone plasma levels depended only on drug dose ( p < 0.001). Aripiprazole plasma levels were similar to those described in adults (median 165.8 ng/ml) and were widely distributed, with an inter-patient variability of 81.1 %, while the intra-patient variability was much lower (29.3 %). Multiple regression analyses indicated that aripiprazole plasma levels were influenced by the daily doses ( p < 0.001) and by the number of concomitant drugs ( p < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study described the distribution of plasma levels of SGAs in a real-life setting involving pediatric patients, significantly increasing the amount of available data for this fragile population. If confirmed in larger dataset, these data may contribute to the definition of optimal therapeutic window for risperidone and aripiprazole plasma levels in pediatric patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a broad range of covariates on the survival of a real-life long-term follow-up cohort of community-dwelling patients with behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia who were new users of atypical antipsychotic medications (APMs). Methods: This was a prospective cohort study of 1,618 subjects aged ≥65 years with dementia and BPSD ('behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia') who were new users of atypical APMs and registered in a Dementia Evaluation Unit of Campania Region (Italy) from September 2006 to March 2010. The potential of baseline features to predict mortality was assessed with the Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The average follow-up was 309 days. Of the 1,618 new users of atypical antipsychotics, 9.3 % experienced at least one adverse event, including death (5.1 %), drug therapeutic failure (3.0 %), extrapyramidal symptoms (0.5 %) and stroke (0.2 %). The crude all-cause mortality rate was 6.0 per 100 person-years [95 % confidence interval (CI) 4.8-7.4]; the rate was higher in patients aged >85 years (9.0 per 100 person-years, 95 % CI 6.4-12.7) and among male patients (7.5 per 100 person-years, 95% CI 5.3-10.6). In the multivariate analysis, only age was associated to all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) 1.1; 95 % CI 1.0-1.1 and HR 1.4; 95 % CI: 0.9-2.2, respectively). In contrast, hallucination (HR 0.4; 95 % CI 0.2-0.6) and dosage change (HR 0.4; 95 % CI 0.2-0.78) were significantly associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality. Conclusions: Among our patient cohort, the mortality rate of patients with BPSD receiving long-term treatment with atypical APMs was lower than that reported in other studies, and only age was found to be significant predictor factor of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical guidelines suggest that for patients with heart failure and concurrent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), metoprolol/bisoprolol/nebivolol should be preferred over carvedilol. However, studies suggest a high proportion of carvedilol usage that remains unexplained. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the predictors of carvedilol choice in patients with heart failure and COPD that were naïve to carvedilol or metoprolol/bisoprolol/nebivolol. Caserta Local Health Unit databases (Italy) were used as data sources. Age, sex, chronic/acute comorbidities, and co-medications were included in a logistic regression model to assess predictors of carvedilol choice. Chronic comorbidities include those defined in the Elixhauser comorbidity index and all hospitalizations within two years prior to the first beta-blocker prescription. Comedications include all redeemed prescriptions within one year prior to the beta-blocker prescription. Kernel density estimations were used to assess the overlap in propensity and preference scores distributions for receiving carvedilol and thereby potential beta-blocker exchangeability. Totally, 10091 patients composed the study population; 2011 were exposed to carvedilol. The overlapping of propensity scores distributions was 57%. Accordingly, the exchangeability was not reached. Atrioventricular block (Odds Ratio, OR 8.20; 95% Confidence Interval, 95% CI 1.30-51.80), cerebrovascular thrombosis (OR 7.06; 95% CI 1.14-43.68), chronic kidney disease (OR 4.32; 95% CI 1.16-16.02), and acute heart failure (OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.28-3.03) hospitalizations were statistically significantly associated with carvedilol choice. Analogously, human insulin (OR 3.00; 95% CI 1.24-7.24), fondaparinux (OR 2.47; 95% CI 1.17-5.21) or strontium ranelate (OR 2.03; 95% CI 1.06-3.90) redeemed prescriptions. In conclusion, this study suggests the absence of beta-blockers exchangeability and a preferential choice of carvedilol in patients with heart failure, COPD and concurrent chronic kidney disease, atrioventricular block, cerebrovascular thrombosis, acute heart failure or redeeming human insulin, fondaparinux or strontium ranelate prescriptions. Therefore, it suggests that choice of prescribing carvedilol over metoprolol/bisoprolol/nebivolol is driven by differences in comorbidities and co-treatments.

Objectives : Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have proved to be effective in preventing cervical carcinoma. Although their safety profile resembled those of any other vaccine, few clinical studies showed that HPV vaccines might also induce severe adverse events. Methods : The authors aimed to investigate the safety profile of HPV vaccines, by analyzing the individual case safety reports (ICSRs) of a suspected adverse event following immunization (AEFI) concerning HPV vaccines that were sent to the Italian Pharmacovigilance Spontaneous Reporting System (RNF) in the Campania Region from January 2007 to September 2018. Results : During the study period, 82 ICSRs, covering 181 AEFIs, related to HPV vaccines were sent to the RNF in the Campania Region. The mean age of patients who experienced an AEFI after HPV vaccinations was 13 ± 4.5 years. The majority of ICSRs reported AEFIs that were considered as not serious (82%) and that had a favorable outcome (93%). Conclusion : The overall results of the study demonstrated that, except for a few cases, AEFIs related to HPV vaccines reflect those already reported in the summary of product characteristics. The authors did not identify any new safety issues or serious, rare or unexpected AEFIs that were medically confirmed to be related to HPV vaccines.

Objective: To assess the prescribing pattern of antidiabetic drugs (AD) in a general practice of Southern Italy from 2009 to 2012, with focus on behaviour prescribing changes., Methods: This retrospective, drug utilization study was conducted using administrative databases of the Local Health Unit of Caserta (Southern Italy) including about 1 million citizens. The standardized prevalence of AD use was calculated within each study year. A sample cohort of 78,789 subjects with at least one prescription of AD was identified during the study period., Results: There was an overall increase of the proportion of the patients treated with monotherapy, which was significant for insulin monotherapy (from 11.2 to 14.6%, p<0.001). The proportion of patients treated with metformin remained stable (from 68.3% to 67.8%, p=0.076), while those receiving sulfonylurea dropped from 18.4% to 12.5% (p<0.001); GLP-1 analogues and DPP-4 inhibitors showed the greatest increase (from 1.2% to 6.6%, p<0.001). In the whole sample of 25,148 new AD users, metformin was the most commonly prescribed drug in monotherapy (41.9%), while insulin ranked second (13.3%)., Conclusion: This study shows a rising trend of AD monotherapy, with sulfonylureas and incretins showing the more negative and positive trend, respectively., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting by patients has a fundamental role in pharmacovigilance. The main objectives of the present study were to assess the impact of a pharmacist-based intervention in promoting direct patient reporting, to evaluate patient ability to identify and report ADRs and to determine their pattern., Research Design and Methods: The study involved 96 pharmacists in the Campania region of Italy, who interviewed their customers and asked them whether they had experienced an ADR. Patients who had experienced an ADR were invited to complete an ADR reporting form. The quality of completed ADR reporting forms was evaluated before their entry into the Italian Spontaneous Reporting System (Rete Nazionale di Farmacovigilanza [RNF]) and, once entered, their pattern was determined., Results: A total of 18,677 patients were interviewed, and 10.88% had experienced an ADR. After quality control, 54.32% of all reporting forms were entered into the RNF so that patient contribution to spontaneous reporting, null over the years, reached ∼7%. Patients reported mainly non-serious (91.28%) and expected (94.62%) ADRs, and NSAIDs or antibiotics were the most frequently reported drugs., Conclusions: The study shows that pharmacists can have an important role in promoting patient reporting and adds new information on how a patient reporting form should be structured.

Objective: Although bisphosphonate (BP)-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ) is well recognized, little is known about it in terms of pathophysiology, epidemiology or management. We analyzed all suspected BRONJ reports sent to the Italian Pharmacovigilance Adverse Event Spontaneous Reporting System (Rete Nazionale Farmacovigilanza [RNF]) to determine their pattern and add new information about this relevant issue., Research Design and Methods: All suspected BRONJ sent to the RNF between 2003 and 2011 were retrieved. After a case-by-case assessment procedure, we analyzed BP type, BP exposure time and time since last use., Results: Between 2003 and 2011, 555 reports of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) after BP administration were recorded in the RNF. These events occurred mostly in patients affected by cancer (77.84%) in which zoledronate was the most frequently suspected BP. Most patients experienced ONJ after long-term use of the drug (median time of BP exposure being between 1.3 and 8.8 years). Interestingly, 139 (25.05%) cases of ONJ occurred between 2 and 121 months after BP withdrawal., Conclusion: This study shows that BRONJ can occur much earlier than hitherto reported, adds new data on BRONJ onset following ibandronate treatment and reveals that patients who cease BP-based therapy develop ONJ, raising the question of post-treatment monitoring strategies.

Objective: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric childhood disorder. The most commonly used drugs in the treatment of ADHD are methylphenidate (MPH) and atomoxetine (ATX); the former of the two is prescribed in USA more than it is in Western Europe. Some of the most important safety concerns about ADHD drug treatment are sudden cardiac death and suicidal behavior. In this study, we present a series of cases of Italian children who had presented suicidal ideation during ADHD pharmacological therapy with ATX., Research Design and Methods: Data were obtained from the ADHD Italian Register. The data assessed the use of MPH and ATX, which had been prescribed to patients who were aged < 18 years and diagnosed with ADHD. All patients enrolled in the ADHD Italian Register treated with ATX or MPH who experienced suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harming were considered and assessed., Results: We describe the clinical cases of seven Italian children (enrolled in the ADHD Italian Register) treated with ATX and affected by suicidal ideation, self-harming or other similar symptoms. Our results highlighted that all seven patients developed suicidal ideation or intentional self-harming during pharmaceutical treatment with ATX and, particularly, after the dose increase of the drug., Conclusion: There is a need to improve our knowledge about the efficacy and safety of ATX, MPH and other drugs used in the treatment of ADHD both in children and adults during the post-marketing experience.

Objectives: We sought to evaluate the prescribing pattern of statins according to national and regional health policy interventions and to assess specifically the adherence to the therapy in outpatient setting in Southern Italy., Methods: A population-based study was performed on persons ≥15 years old, living in the catchment area of Caserta (Southern Italy), and registered in Arianna database between 2004 and 2010. Prevalence and incidence of new treatments with statins were calculated for each year and stratified by drug. Adherence to therapy was measured by Medication Possession Ratio. Sub-analyses by individual compound and type of cardiovascular prevention were performed., Results: From 2004 to 2010, the one-year prevalence of statin use increased from 44.9/1,000 inhabitants to 79.8/1,000, respectively, consistently with the incidence of new use from 16.2/1,000 to 19.5/1,000, except a slight decrease after criteria reimbursement revision on 2005 (13.3/1,000). The incidence of new treatments decreased for atorvastatin, and increased for simvastatin over the study years. Overall, 43% of new users were still highly adherent to the treatment (MPR≥80%) after six months, while 26% after 4-years of follow-up. As compared with highly adherent patients, the probability to be non-adherent (MPR≤25%) at 4-years of follow-up was 26% higher for women than for men (full adj. odds ratio: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.10-1.45), and 64% higher in patients who started on primary rather than on secondary prevention (1.64; 1.29-2.07)., Conclusions: Prevalence and incidence of statin use increased consistently with health policy interventions. Only one-fourth of patients who newly initiated a statin were adherent to the treatment after 4-year of follow-up. Since the benefits of statins in terms of cardiovascular outcome and costs are associated with their chronic use, the identification of patient-related predictors of non-adherence such as gender, primary prevention could be suitable for physicians to improve the patients' compliance.

Objective: Our intensive pharmacosurveillance monitoring program was performed to increase the number of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) recorded in the Italian spontaneous reporting database, and to systematically collect more thorough data about atomoxetine (ATX) and methylphenidate (MPH) safety in the pediatric setting., Methods: From September 2007 to October 2010, 1841 youth were enrolled in the Italian Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Register, but we report here on the 76 children from the five Reference Prescription Centers in Campania, an Italian region where we administered our systematic adverse event checklist., Results: Among our cohort, 68 children received a prescription of ATX and 8 received a prescription of MPH. Most children were male and between 10 and 13 years of age, had a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-combined (ADHD-C) and had learning disability as the main comorbidity. Most ADRs reported to the Italian spontaneous reporting database occurred in patients from Campania. Twenty-five experienced at least 1 ADR for a total of 40 ADRs reported to the Italian drug agency. Most ADRs were common and not serious, and resolved completely. Weight loss was the most frequently reported ADR. Only two ADRs were unexpected and only one was uncommon. Sixteen ADRs resulted in permanent drug withdrawal. Based on the Naranjo algorithm, 25 ADRs were considered "probable" and 15 were considered "possible.", Conclusions: Although our data provide reassurance of the safety of ATX and MPH, several unexpected or uncommon ADRs (hepatomegaly, suicidal ideation, weight gain, or drug interactions) were identified by our intensive pharmacosurveillance monitoring program. Our results show that an intensive pharmacosurveillance monitoring program that involves pharmacovigilance centers and clinicians can improve the collection of information on drug safety in children.

In the therapeutic field, analysis of antibiotics consumption and use is of great importance: it is considered a necessary prerequisite for initiating measures to rationalize the use of antibiotics, but also to limit bacterial resistance. In this light, we conducted an observational study on antibiotics consumption at the Policlinico University Hospital in Naples to evaluate the prescription of antibiotics in the hospital's four main divisions. We used the Defined Daily Dose (DDD) as a measure of antibiotics consumption, and collected data retrospectively from 2006 to 2007. Our findings clearly show a 23.3% increase in antibiotics consumption in 2007 vs 2006. The classes of antibiotics experiencing the greatest percentage increases were penicillins and other beta-lactams, quinolones and glycopeptides. In particular, among other beta-lactams (J01D) in 2007 was the consumption of third-generation cephalosporins and carbapenems. The surgical division showed the largest increase in use of antibiotics, while in intensive care we found a reduction. Our data suggest consumption data should be compared with information on prescriptions and costs so as to monitor more closely the consumption of antibiotics and thus rationalize their use with a view to reducing the phenomenon of bacterial resistance. Finally, it would be useful to launch a training program for the proper use of antibiotics in our University Hospital.