The correlation between aminoglycoside consumption patterns and the occurrence of aminoglycoside-resistant bacteria from 12 different countries was analyzed. Regional and national data were collected retrospectively and compared. There was evidence of a wide variation of the national aminoglycoside consumption patterns in the different countries. There was a striking correlation of gentamicin resistance and the total national aminoglycoside and national gentamicin consumption. In addition, there was a clear correlation between bacterial resistance inside and outside the hospital to the total amount of aminoglycoside, particularly gentamicin, consumption in hospitals. In a number of countries, an increase in the frequency of gentamicin-resistant bacterial strains could be noticed. For amikacin, only a correlation of staphylococcal resistance in hospitalized patients to the total amount of national aminoglycoside and amikacin consumption could be found.
