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Independent analysis of NHS open data
PharmaInsight

Erythromycin vs Nitrofurantoin

National NHS prescribing compared (Prescription Cost Analysis)
Data updated May 2026

Nitrofurantoin was dispensed 18.0× as often as Erythromycin in May 2026 — 333,741 items versus 18,582 in England.

18,582items

Erythromycin · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

333,741items

Nitrofurantoin · May 2026

NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis

Figure 1. Erythromycin versus Nitrofurantoin: national items dispensed by month

▬ Erythromycin   ·   ╌ Nitrofurantoin

0 204k 408k Jan 2021 Nov 2021 Sep 2022 Jul 2023 May 2024 Mar 2025 May 2026 Nitrofurantoin 18,582 Jan 2021: 32k Feb 2021: 30k Mar 2021: 33k Apr 2021: 31k May 2021: 30k Jun 2021: 32k Jul 2021: 32k Aug 2021: 30k Sep 2021: 33k Oct 2021: 33k Nov 2021: 34k Dec 2021: 35k Jan 2022: 31k Feb 2022: 29k Mar 2022: 33k Apr 2022: 29k May 2022: 30k Jun 2022: 29k Jul 2022: 30k Aug 2022: 29k Sep 2022: 28k Oct 2022: 29k Nov 2022: 31k Dec 2022: 48k Jan 2023: 40k Feb 2023: 31k Mar 2023: 35k Apr 2023: 28k May 2023: 29k Jun 2023: 28k Jul 2023: 27k Aug 2023: 27k Sep 2023: 26k Oct 2023: 27k Nov 2023: 27k Dec 2023: 29k Jan 2024: 31k Feb 2024: 28k Mar 2024: 29k Apr 2024: 29k May 2024: 27k Jun 2024: 23k Jul 2024: 26k Aug 2024: 23k Sep 2024: 22k Oct 2024: 24k Nov 2024: 23k Dec 2024: 25k Jan 2025: 25k Feb 2025: 22k Mar 2025: 23k Apr 2025: 22k May 2025: 22k Jun 2025: 21k Jul 2025: 21k Aug 2025: 20k Sep 2025: 21k Oct 2025: 22k Nov 2025: 20k Dec 2025: 23k Jan 2026: 22k Feb 2026: 20k Mar 2026: 21k Apr 2026: 20k May 2026: 19k

Source: NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis, to May 2026

Erythromycin versus Nitrofurantoin, May 2026
Measure Erythromycin Nitrofurantoin
Items, May 2026 18,582 333,741
Items, last 12 months 251,466 4,416,505
Net ingredient cost, May 2026 £394,575 £2,268,636

See the full profile for Erythromycin or Nitrofurantoin.