Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40437568›Full record

ArticleAntimicrobial resistance and infection control2025

Antimicrobial resistance in the Nordics: mapping existing surveillance systems and assessing the impact of COVID-19 using regression models.

Tam T Tran, Adriana Krolicka, Ananda Tiwari, Tarja Pitkänen, Rolf Lood, Ásta Margrét Ásmundsdóttir, Odd-Gunnar Wikmark

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Antimicrobial resistance and infection control, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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

7 authors.

Tam T TranNORCE Research AS, Nygårdstangen, Bergen, 5838, Norway. tran@norceresearch.no.
Adriana KrolickaNORCE Research AS, Nygårdstangen, Bergen, 5838, Norway.
Ananda TiwariMicrobiology Unit, Department of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, 70701, Finland.
Tarja PitkänenMicrobiology Unit, Department of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, 70701, Finland.
Rolf LoodDepartment of Clinical Sciences Lund, Division of Infection Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Ásta Margrét ÁsmundsdóttirDepartment of Natural Resource Sciences, University of Akureyri, Akureyri, Iceland.
Odd-Gunnar WikmarkNORCE Research AS, Nygårdstangen, Bergen, 5838, Norway.

Funding

Commission of the European Communities 101103253NordForsk 139086Norges Forskningsråd 315812
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constituted the largest global health crisis in recent generations. It may also have disrupted the pattern of antimicrobial use (AMU) and subsequently affected the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - a grave human health concern. This study aimed to give an overview of existing AMR surveillance systems and evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on AMU and AMR in the Nordics using data from these systems.

methodsNordic AMU data (2017-2022) were extracted from national annual reports (for both humans and animals) and the European Surveillance System (TESSy) (for humans only). For humans, AMU was expressed in defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 inhabitants per day; for animals, it was expressed in kilogram (kg). Nordic human AMR data (2017-2022) were extracted from TESSy. Multilevel linear regression and negative binomial regression models were used to fit the TESSy data. Data between 2017 and 2019 were categorised as the pre-COVID-19 time, while data between 2020 and 2022 were the per-COVID-19 time.

resultsDenmark had a remarkably greater AMU in animals (about 10 times greater) than Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Iceland had the highest human AMU, while Sweden had the lowest. Drug categories, countries, and sectors were significant predictors in the model used to fit human AMU. Bacterial species and drug categories were significant predictors in the models used to fit human resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The COVID-19 time was not a significant predictor in these models. Among the Nordics, Iceland had the lowest number of resistant isolates; however, high human AMU remains a great concern for Iceland.

conclusionsThe study provided insight into current existing AMR surveillance systems in the Nordics. It also showed that the COVID-19 pandemic had very little impact on AMU and AMR in theses countries. This implied that strict regulations on AMU as well as well-coordinated national AMR surveillance systems in the Nordics mitigated the development of AMR crisis also during COVID-19 pandemic. However, the Nordics would still benefit further from a standardized AMR surveillance at regional level, which ultimately facilitate timely information sharing and improve our preparedness for and response to future pandemics and/or large-scale outbreaks.

Indexed as

Anti-Bacterial AgentsCOVID-19Drug Resistance, BacterialAnimalsHumansSARS-CoV-2Scandinavian and Nordic CountriesAnti-Bacterial AgentsAntimicrobial resistanceAntimicrobial useCOVID-19The Nordics

Identifiers

PMID40437568
PMCPMC12121021

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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 OpenQuestion graph.