ABSTRACT
Introduction: Introduction: Antibiotics are a class of natural and synthetic compounds that inhibit the growth of or kill other microorganisms. Overuse of antibiotic is one of the most important factors for the development and spread of resistance in the hospital, as well as in the community. Present study was designed to describe antibiotic use in children and to assess the impact of an educational intervention on antibiotic prescription. Methodology:The present study was conducted in pediatric ward of a tertiary care institute. The study population included two groups of children – each having 250 children. The first group consisted of 250 consecutive children admitted in one unit of the pediatric ward and they were analyzed for antibiotic use without any prior priming of the members of the unit regarding rationality of antibiotic use. This was followed by an intervention in the form of a 3hour workshop for all members of the unit. The second group included another 250 children consecutively admitted in the wards after this intervention. Results:In Pre intervention group 55 (44%) children received antibiotics in rational way, while in Post intervention group 90(60.40%) children received antibiotic in rational way. One hundred and thirty-six children (49.4%) received antibiotics for respiratory tract infections, this being the commonest disease for which antibiotics were received. As seen in the table, unindicated use of antibiotic was significantly reduced in Post intervention group (p = 0.03).Conclusion: The present study included 500 children. There were 285 (57%) males and 215 (43%) females. Amongst these 500 patients, 178 (35.6%) were below 1 year of age. This group had the highest number of patients. In the Pre intervention group, 55 (44%) children received antibiotics rationally, while in Post intervention group 90(60.40%) children received antibiotic rationally
ABSTRACT
Background: Antibiotic resistance is rising to alarming levels that necessitates the evaluation of prescription patterns for the rational use of antibiotics. Hence this study was conducted to evaluate antibiotic use in a government run general hospital.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted to evaluate the rationality of antimicrobial prescription in a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a government run tertiary care teaching hospital using the USAID indicators for rational use of antibiotics. Case records of 104 patients were documented and analysed.Results: The most common antimicrobials prescribed were 3rd generation Cephalosporins namely Ceftriaxone, followed by Aminoglycosides (Amikacin), Imipenams (Meropenam), Anti-Influenza Antiviral (Oseltamivir) and Oxazolidinones (Linezolid). A common trend of antibiotic overuse emerged due to paucity of resources to support decision making and choice of antibiotic. This led to patients being exposed to a high number of antibiotics with an associated increase in morbidity.Conclusions: Antibiotic resistance would remain a challenge until systems for rapid, precise and low cost detection of the causative micro-organisms and antibiotic sensitivity are developed, surveillance systems are increased and antibiotic stewardship programs are enforced.