New Findings from Korea University Describe Advances in Pneumonia (Trend of Antibiotic Usage for Hospitalized Community-acquired Pneumonia Cases in Korea Based on the 2010-2015 National Health Insurance Data)

2020 DEC 21 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators publish new report on Lung Diseases and Conditions - Pneumonia. According to news originating from Seoul, South Korea, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “This study is to describe the changes in prescribing practices of antibiotics to treat community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Korea during 2010-2015. The claim database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in Korea was used to select adult patients (18 years of age) admitted between 2010 and 2015, with the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes relevant to all-cause pneumonia for the first or second priority discharge diagnosis.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Korea University, “The episodes with hospital-acquired or healthcare-associated pneumonia were excluded. Consumption of each antibiotic was converted to defined daily dose (DDD) per episode. The amount of antibiotic consumption was compared between patients with CAP aged <65 years and those aged 65 years. The average amount of antibiotic consumption per episode was 15.5 DDD, which remained stable throughout the study period (=0.635). Patients aged 65 years received more antibiotics than those aged <65 years (15.7 vs. 15.3 DDD). Third-generation cephalosporin (4.9 DDD/episode, 31.4%) was the most commonly prescribed, followed by macrolide (2.7 DDD/episode, 17.1%) and beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (BL/BLI) (2.1 DDD/episode, 13.6%). The consumption amount of fourth-generation cephalosporin (4th CEP) (=0.001), BL/BLI (=0.003) and carbapenem (=0.002) increased each year during the study period. The consumption of 4th CEP and carbapenem was doubled during 2010-2015.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The prescription of broad-spectrum antibiotics such as 4th CEP and carbapenem to treat CAP increased in Korea during 2010-2015.”

For more information on this research see: Trend of Antibiotic Usage for Hospitalized Community-acquired Pneumonia Cases in Korea Based on the 2010-2015 National Health Insurance Data. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 2020;35(47). Journal of Korean Medical Science can be contacted at: Korean Acad Medical Sciences, 302 75 Dong du Ichon, Dong Yongsan Ku, Seoul 140 031, South Korea.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Rangmi Myung, Dept. of Economics, College of Political Science & Economics, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include Bongyoung Kim, Myoung Jae Lee, Jieun Kim and Hyunjoo Pai.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2020.35.e390. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

The publisher’s contact information for the Journal of Korean Medical Science is: Korean Acad Medical Sciences, 302 75 Dong du Ichon, Dong Yongsan Ku, Seoul 140 031, South Korea.

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