Defining daily doses and total doses for the measurement of antibiotic usage in Swiss pig production

Echtermann, Thomas; Müntener, Cedric R; Torgerson, Paul R.; Sidler, Xaver; Kümmerlen, Dolf

doi:10.17236/sat00179

Cited by 8 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, macrolides showed a difference in calculated use depending on whether Swiss or European definitions were chosen. As a previous study showed, there are six Swiss premix products containing the macrolide tylosin with much lower defined daily and course doses compared to the values of the EMA (20), thus explaining the relatively high number of DDDch and DCDch in this category. This general understanding can also be used to explain the results in Table 1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…These values were defined by calculating the mean of given registrations for livestock production from nine different European countries. In analogy with the principles of the EMA (19), national defined doses (DDDch and DCDch) for each individual registration in the pig sector in Switzerland were recently determined and some theoretically discrepancies between Swiss and European values have been described in a prior study (20).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Antimicrobial Drug Consumption on Swiss Pig Farms: A Comparison of Swiss and European Defined Daily and Course Doses in the Field

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Defined Daily Doses (DDD) and Defined Course Doses (DCD) have been established in both human and veterinary medicine in order to standardize the measurement of treatments in a population. In 2016 the European Medicines Agency published average defined daily dose (DDDvet) and defined course dose (DCDvet) values for antimicrobial agents used in livestock production. Similarly, national defined doses (DDDch and DCDch) for the pig sector in Switzerland have recently been determined. The aim of this study was to compare the outcome of calculating antimicrobial consumption based on either DDDvet/DCDvet or DDDch/DCDch. Data from 227 Swiss pig farms describing antimicrobial use in 2015 was collected. The numbers of treatment days and treatments were calculated using DDDvet/DCDvet and DDDch/DCDch respectively, for each farm in total and for different antimicrobial classes. Associations between calculated numbers of DDDvet/DCDvet and DDDch/DCDch on farm level were investigated. In addition, differences concerning antimicrobial use were investigated between different production types of farms (piglet-producer, finishing farm or farrow-to-finishing farm). Using DDDch/DCDch values we calculated 1,805,494 treatment days and 433,678 treatments compared to 1,456,771 treatment days (19% ratio) and 303,913 treatments (30% ratio) based on DDDvet/DCDvet. Penicillins (21.4/26.6%), polypeptides (18.6/27.6%) and fluoroquinolones (9.5/8.8%) were the most frequently used classes of antimicrobials based on calculation using both DDDch and DDDvet. Similar findings were observed for complete treatments (DCDch/vet) (penicillins: 52.8/39.6%; polypeptides: 7.8/14.2%; fluoroquinolones: 13.2/12.9%). The number of treatment days or treatments per farm was higher for piglet-producers and farrow-to-finishing farms compared to finisher farms regardless of whether Swiss or European DDD or DCD values were used for the calculation (each P < 0.001). Similar results for antimicrobial use (AMU) obtained at farm level were observed when calculated either by Swiss or European definitions. Nevertheless, marked differences could be observed in the assessment of the use of specific antimicrobial classes in the field based on DDDvet/DCDvet compared to DDDch/DCDch.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antimicrobial Drug Consumption on Swiss Pig Farms: A Comparison of Swiss and European Defined Daily and Course Doses in the Field

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Therefore, national DDDs and DCDs have been developed in several countries (15,22,23). For this reason, separate Defined Daily Doses (DDDch) and Defined Course Doses (DCDch) were developed for Switzerland, some of which consequently showed considerable deviations from the indicators published by the EMA (21,(23)(24)(25)(26). Due to these discrepancies, some authors consider the so-called treatment incidence based on used daily doses, which describes the proportion of treated animals at Abbreviations: AMU, antimicrobial usage; AS, active substance; ATI, Animal Treatment Index; DDDch, Defined Daily Dose Switzerland; DCDch, Defined Course Dose Switzerland; DDDvet, Defined Daily Dose (EMA); DCDvet, Defined Course Dose (EMA); EMA, European Medicines Agency; Min, minimum; Max, maximum; NT, number of treatment days; nDDDch, number of DDDch; SD, standard deviation; SW, standard weight; VMP, Veterinary Medical Product.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The DDDvet values based on data from nine European countries have been shown in some cases to differ considerably from the dosages specified in the respective national summaries of product characteristics (SPCs). Therefore, national DDDs and DCDs have been developed in several countries ( 15 , 22 , 23 ). For this reason, separate Defined Daily Doses (DDDch) and Defined Course Doses (DCDch) were developed for Switzerland, some of which consequently showed considerable deviations from the indicators published by the EMA ( 21 , 23 – 26 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agreement of Benchmarking High Antimicrobial Usage Farms Based on Either Animal Treatment Index or Number of National Defined Daily Doses

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: While treatment frequency as an indicator of antimicrobial consumption is often assessed using defined doses, it can also be calculated directly as an Animal Treatment Index (ATI). In this study, the correlation of calculating antimicrobial usage on Swiss pig farms using either national Defined Daily Doses (DDDch) or an ATI (number of treatments per animal per year) and the agreement between the different methods for the identification of high usage farms were investigated. Material and Methods: The antimicrobial consumption of 893 Swiss pig herds was calculated separately for suckling piglets, weaned piglets, fattening pigs, lactating and gestating sows using the indicators nDDDch (number of DDDch) per animal per year and ATI. Correlations between the indicators were investigated by calculating Spearman's Rho coefficients. The 5, 10, and 25% highest usage farms were determined by applying both methods and the interrater reliability was described using Cohen's Kappa coefficients and visualized by Bland-Altman plots. Results: The Spearman's Rho coefficients showed strong correlations (r > 0.5) between nDDDch/animal/year and ATI. The lowest coefficient was shown for the correlation of both indicators in gestating sows (r = 0.657) and the highest in weaned piglets (r = 0.910). Kappa coefficients identifying high usage farms were the highest in weaned piglets (k = 0.71, 0.85, and 0.91, respectively for 5, 10, and 25% most frequent users) and the lowest in gestating sows (k = 0.54, 0.58, and 0.55 for 5, 10, and 25% most frequent users). Conclusions: In general, the investigated indicators showed strong correlations and a broad agreement in terms of the calculated levels of antimicrobial usage and the identification of high usage farms. Nevertheless, a certain proportion of the farms were defined differently depending on the indicator used. These differences varied by age category and were larger in all age categories except weaned piglets when a higher percentage benchmark was used to define high usage farms. These aspects should be considered when designing scientific studies or monitoring systems and considering which indicator to use.

show abstract

Antimicrobial usage in Swiss fattening pig farms: is there still potential for improvement?

Ngom

Silva

Carmo

et al. 2022

Tierarztl Prax Ausg G Grosstiere Nutztiere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective The aim of this study was to analyze antimicrobial usage (AMU) in fattening pig farms that took part in the SuisSano/Safety + Health Programme in Switzerland over the year 2020 and to discuss the potential for further improvement. Usage was examined according to the antimicrobial’s class and indication for use, with emphasis on highest priority critically important antimicrobials (HPCIAs). Methods Data on AMU from 1411 farms, reported in an electronic treatment journal, was used. AMU was quantified through treatment incidence (TI) based on Swiss Defined Daily Doses (DDDch). Indication of use for each antimicrobial class was analyzed with particular focus on HPCIAs. Results The total TI of all antimicrobials used in the farms corresponds to 8.9 DDDch per 1000 pig-days at risk, of which HPCIAs represented 2.6 %. A total of 140 farms (9.9 %) partake in HPCIAs usage, with tylosin (73.8 % of total HPCIA TI) and colistin (22.8 % of total HPCIA TI) being the most frequently antimicrobials used. The most common indication for treatment with HPCIAs was gastrointestinal disorders (62.1 % of total HPCIA TI). Conclusion and clinical relevance This study shows that the efforts made in recent years to foster prudent use of antimicrobials and, especially HPCIAs in Swiss pig production, have been successful. Indeed, 90.1 % (1271 of 1411) of the farms did not use any HPCIAs over the year 2020. Of the recorded treatments, HPCIA’s represented only 2.6 % of the total TIs used in fattening pigs. Since many farms do not use any HPCIAs, knowledge can be obtained from these farms to identify practices which can further reduce or even stop HPCIAs usage. Moreover, information concerning indications for HPCIAs usage provide input concerning where treatment options other than HPCIAs should be explored by both farmers and veterinarians.

show abstract

Defining daily doses and total doses for the measurement of antibiotic usage in Swiss pig production

Cited by 8 publications

References 4 publications

Antimicrobial Drug Consumption on Swiss Pig Farms: A Comparison of Swiss and European Defined Daily and Course Doses in the Field

Antimicrobial Drug Consumption on Swiss Pig Farms: A Comparison of Swiss and European Defined Daily and Course Doses in the Field

Agreement of Benchmarking High Antimicrobial Usage Farms Based on Either Animal Treatment Index or Number of National Defined Daily Doses

Antimicrobial usage in Swiss fattening pig farms: is there still potential for improvement?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About