Consumption of systemic antifungal agents among acute care hospitals in Catalonia (Spain), 2008-2013

Objective To know the patterns and consumption trends (2008-2013) of antifungal agents for systemic use in 52 acute care hospitals affiliated to VINCat Program in Catalonia (Spain). Methods Consumption was calculated in defined daily doses (DDD)/100 patient-days and analyzed according to hospital size and complexity and clinical departments. Results Antifungal consumption was higher in intensive care units (ICU) (14.79) than in medical (3.08) and surgical departments (1.19). Fluconazole was the most consumed agent in all type of hospitals and departments. Overall antifungal consumption increased by 20.5%during the study period (p=0.066); a significant upward trend was observed in the consumption of both azoles and echinocandins. In ICUs, antifungal consumption increased by 12.4% (p=0.019). Conclusions The study showed a sustained increase in the overall consumption of systemic antifungals in a large number of acute care hospitals of different characteristics in Catalonia. In ICUs there was a trend towards the substitution of older agents by the new ones.