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Antibiotic demand for pneumonia and COPD in the top 20 countries showed high global consumption.

Researchers conducted a retrospective study published in the June 2025 issue of International Journal of Infectious Disease to estimate the total antibiotic requirements for treating individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).  

They estimated COPD exacerbations and pneumonia cases in 2019 across the 20 most populous countries. Antibiotic requirements were determined using World Health Organization AWaRe guidelines. The proportion needing antibiotics was based on average bacterial etiology data. Individuals not improving with first-line therapy were assumed to either recover with second-line treatment, stop care, or die during therapy. Where 2 treatment options existed, individuals were evenly divided between them.  

The results showed that penicillins [76.1%] and cephalosporins [22.6%] were the most commonly required antibiotics, primarily for treating community-acquired pneumonia, followed by hospital-acquired pneumonia and COPD exacerbations. India and China accounted for the highest penicillin consumption at 37% and 21% of total use, respectively, followed by the United States, Brazil, and Indonesia, which together contributed 15%. Per capita consumption of penicillins was highest in India, Brazil, and Germany. A total of 2,276,046 million mg of penicillins and 676,098 million mg of cephalosporins were estimated as necessary.  

Investigators concluded that estimating antibiotic requirements provided a valuable approach to support prudent use and guide to global antimicrobial planning. 

Source: ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(25)00173-0/fulltext