Consumption of anti-infective drugs in Bulgaria for the period from 1979 to 1994.

The use of systemic antibacterial drugs in Bulgaria for the period from 1979 to 1994 had been studied using the Defined Daily Doses (DDD) methodology. The total consumption of antibacterials, the consumption by therapeutic groups and preparations were presented. The usage of anti-infectives in Bulgaria was growing during the period under discussion. Most of the groups followed the general tendency of the total consumption showing their own variations throughout the years. The role of the different preparations was defined. Bulgarians' way of using antibacterials showed the following characteristics: permanent increase in the total consumption; high consumption of tetracyclines and extended spectrum penicillins; low consumption of narrow spectrum antibiotics; and relatively high consumption of aminoglycosides and chloramphenicol. In this study an attempt was made to relate the data with several factors influencing the consumption. For comparison we studied available statistical data of some other countries.