Patterns of recurring dispensing of guideline antibiotics for uncomplicated urinary tract infection in women over a 5-year period: Longitudinal patterns of recurring dispensings of Dutch guideline UTI antibiotics

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most prevalent medical conditions among women seeking primary care. About 20–40% of the women have a UTI recurrence during their lifetime. OBJECTIVE: To provide insight in the patterns of recurring annual dispensing for antibiotics commonly used for UTI treatment in women, aged 18 years or older, during a 5-year follow-up period in the Netherlands. METHODS: The Dutch Foundation of Pharmaceutical statistics collects dispensing data from more than 90% of all community pharmacies. Pharmacies with complete data between years 2011 and 2017 were included. Women of age 18 years or older with a first dispensing of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin, or trimethoprim in 2012 and a dispensing of any medication in 2017 were selected. For each year between 2013 and 2017, the proportions of women with recurring dispensing of nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin or trimethoprim were calculated and stratified for age categories. RESULTS: Within 1517 eligible community pharmacies, 463 821 women, aged 18 years or older, were dispensed one of the antibiotics in 2012, and 239 292 women still visited the same pharmacy in 2017. About 56% of them received at least one recurring dispensing during 5 years of follow-up. Each year, ~20% of the source population had at least one recurring dispensing. Approximately 2% of the source population had at least one recurring dispensing in each year of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Over the 5-year study period, more than 50% of the source population had at least one recurring dispensing for uncomplicated UTI, most of them with at least 1 year without UTI dispensing in between.