[Impact of a quality control program on antibiotic prescription in a hospital in Havana, Cuba]. / Impacto de un programa de control de la calidad de la prescripción de antibióticos en un hospital de La Habana, Cuba.

OBJECTIVE: Demonstrate the efficacy of a quality control program on antibiotic prescription in Joaquín Albarrán Hospital in Havana, Cuba. METHODS: An interventional study was conducted from 1 May 2008 to 31 March 2011. The study included evaluation of prescription quality, information feedback, educational activities, the operations of an antibiotic committee, and the preparation of protocols on antimicrobial drug use. A simple arithmetic graph of the time series was constructed, and the absolute values of the series percentages were compared. In order to verify the existence of a series trend, a simple linear regression model was applied. RESULTS: Antibiotic prescription was evaluated in 2 941 patients. An irregular series was observed, with inappropriate use in 30.7%-48.4% of these patients in the first three months analyzed. The value of the regression slope was close to zero, although it was negative and significantly different from zero (ß = -0.29; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The antibiotic control program improved the quality of prescribing for hospital patients.