Essential Medicine Monitor

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Vijay

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E-DRUG: Essential Medicines Monitor No 5

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Essential Medicines Monitor No 5 Asthma Drug Facility and Antimicrobial

Resistance in China

May I draw the attention of E-Drug readers to the latest edition of the

Essential Medicines Monitor. This is Number 5 August 2011. The full edition is

available at

http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/monitor/EMM_Issue_5Full_Aug_10.pdf

An article about the Asthma Drug Facility is at

http://www.who.int/entity/medicines/publications/monitor/EMM_Issue_5_Aug_art1.pd\

f . This article is written by Cecile Mace, Bissell and Nils E. Billo from

the International Union against TB and Lung Disease, and describes progress to

date on what is a very exciting initiative to improve the availability of asthma

inhalants. The scheme builds on the examples set by the Global Drug Facility for

TB and the WHO Prequalification Programme. The question the article raises is

that if this can be done for asthma could a similar approach be used for

diabetes or cancer medicines.

The second article, Promoting rational antibiotic prophylaxis in clean surgeries

in China, by Yingdong Zheng, Jing Sun, Ying Zhou, Ning Chen, Liang Zhou and Qing

Yan looks at a problem that exists in every country, antimicrobial resistance.

In this intervention study the authors tested a series of interventions to

improve surgical prophylaxis. The URL for the report is

http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/monitor/EMM_Issue_5_Aug_art2.pdf. The

study was carried out in a network of Chinese hospitals that were undertaking

regular review of antimicrobial use. The results of the study were both

encouraging and somewhat disappointing. The results showed that while

interventions could change practice, follow on interventions were not as

successful. The authors mention in the discussion section that " Perverse

incentives that exist in the health system have driven doctors to use

antibiotics even for those cases for which they are not indicated. " I wonder how

often this is true when well designed interventions do not have the expected

impact!

We welcome the submission of short articles preferably from Low and Middle

Income Countries for the Essential Medicines Monitor. Please see

http://www.who.int/entity/medicines/publications/monitor/en/emmauthorguides.pdf

for instructions for authors. For previous editions of the Monitor please go the

Monitor web page at

http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/monitor/en/index.html

Laing (Coordinator) and Kathleen Hurst (Editors)

Medicine Information and Evidence for Policy,

Department of Essential Medicines and Pharmaceutical Policies

World Health Organization

CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland

Tel 41 22 791 4533

Fax 41 22791 4167

E-mail laingr@...