Copyright (c) 2026 Synergía

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Objective: To synthesize the main indicators of bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotic consumption published between 2019 and 2025 and discuss their public health implications. Methods: A narrative documentary review with a descriptive scope and population perspective was conducted through purposive selection of international reports and scientific publications. The extraction matrix distinguished source, publication year, data period, coverage, definition, measurement unit, estimate, and limitations. Mortality, microbiological surveillance, consumption, and AWaRe indicators were integrated without meta-analysis or original association testing. Results: Estimated deaths associated with and attributable to bacterial AMR were, respectively, 4.95 and 1.27 million in 2019 and 4.71 and 1.14 million in 2021. WHO reported that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections within its surveillance scope were resistant in 2023. For 2022, median consumption was 18.3 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day; approximately one in three reporting jurisdictions achieved an Access share of at least 70%. Discussion: The coexistence of a substantial health burden, consumption differences, and uneven surveillance supports strengthening appropriate antibiotic use and equitable access. Source heterogeneity prevents attribution of the observed burden to specific prescribing patterns. Conclusion: Surveillance, diagnosis, prevention, and antibiotic stewardship require coordinated action. This synthesis does not establish an original statistical association or individual-level causality.