«For many months now there has been a shortage of amoxicillin, the first choice antibiotic for common bacterial infections affecting children and the shortage has widened to include amoxicillin + clavulanic acid. The problem has recently worsened and also concerns generic medicines. For the past two weeks we have been overwhelmed with phone calls from parents seeking replacements for their prescribed antibiotics. And the same pharmacists have dispensed drugs other than those indicated by the doctor. This was explained to Ansa by Susanna Esposito, full professor of Pediatrics at the University of Parma and coordinator of the Infectious Diseases Technical Table of the Italian Society of Pediatrics (Sip).
Amoxicillin, with or without association with clavulanic acid, is the first choice solution for respiratory pathologies such as pharyngitis, tonsillitis, otitis and pneumonia. «He saw – he explains – a large consumption due to the circulation of streptococcal infections and the numerous cases of scarlet fever that we have seen in recent months. There are alternative antibiotics, such as cephalosporins, but they are broader spectrum and have a negative impact on the increase in antibiotic resistance».
The shortage “seemed to be transitory but has been there for months now and is not only linked to greater use, given that the critical winter period should be over”. The issue is complex and can be caused by various reasons, such as insufficient production, increased demand or inadequate distribution and, to resolve it, a table has been opened at the Ministry of Health. «It remains essential to solve the problem as soon as possible to be sure that it will return to the market soon and in the meantime it is necessary to provide precise indications to doctors and pharmacists to guarantee the patient the antibiotic he needs, but with the narrowest possible spectrum. The situation is clearly getting worse.”
In the summer of 2022 there was the problem of the shortage of Nurofen, replaced with ibuprofen-based galenic preparations, and before that the shortage of the pediatric anticonvulsant diazepam. In the current situation, concludes Esposito, “the suggestion is to resort to galenic preparations of amoxicillin and to dispense only the necessary doses, avoiding supplying broad spectrum drugs”.