Evidence mapPaperPMID 40110554Full record

ReviewJAC-antimicrobial resistance2025

Increasing the use of the WHO AWaRe system in antibiotic surveillance and stewardship programmes in low- and middle-income countries.

Zikria Saleem, Samia Sheikh, Brian Godman, Abdul Haseeb, Shairyar Afzal, Muhammad Usman Qamar, Mohammad Tarique Imam, Safa S Almarzoky Abuhussain, Mike Sharland

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in JAC-antimicrobial resistance, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
33citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

33 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Zikria SaleemDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan.
Samia SheikhDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Punjab, Pakistan.
Brian GodmanDepartment of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa 0208, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6539-6972
Abdul HaseebClinical Pharmacy Department, Al Rayan National College of Health Sciences and Nursing, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
Shairyar AfzalDepartment of Pharmacy, DHQ Hospital Jhelum, Jhelum, Pakistan.
Muhammad Usman QamarInstitute of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
Mohammad Tarique ImamDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al Kharj Pin-11942, Saudi Arabia.
Safa S Almarzoky AbuhussainDepartment of Pharmaceutical Practices, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 21955, Saudi Arabia.
Mike SharlandAntibiotic Policy Group, Institute for Infection and Immunity, City St George's, University of London, London SW17 0RE, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) presents a major global health threat, driven in part by the inappropriate use of antibiotics including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Improving the quality of antibiotic use is a key rationale for the development of the WHO's AWaRe (Access, Watch and Reserve) system. There is a need to review the uptake of the AWaRe system since its launch to guide future practice. Methods: A literature search was conducted between 2017, the launch of AWaRe, and 2024. Inclusion criteria were studies that reported on antibiotic use in LMICs using the AWaRe system. Results: Eighty-five studies were included in the review, of which 56.4% focused on antibiotic use trends, with 28.2% reporting on prescribing patterns; 51.7% of the studies included inpatients. Only 14.1% of studies reported meeting the 2024 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) AMR recommended target of at least 70% of human antibiotic use being Access antibiotics, with a concerning trend of overuse of Watch antibiotics (68.2% of studies). Dispensing practices revealed significant dispensing of antibiotics without prescriptions especially in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Watch antibiotics were more available but also more expensive than Access antibiotics. Conclusions: Encouragingly, many LMICs are now reporting antibiotic use via the AWaRe system, including in antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs). Wide variation exists in the proportion of AWaRe antibiotics used across LMICs, with overuse of Watch antibiotics. There is an urgent need for targeted AWaRe-based ASPs in LMICs to meet recent UNGA recommendations. Improving the use, availability and affordability of Access antibiotics is essential to combat AMR.

Identifiers

PMID40110554
PMCPMC11919820

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.