DRUG UTILIZATION EVALUATION OF ANTIBIOTICS IN INDIAN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Background: Infections occur when viruses, bacteria, or microbes enter the body and multiply. Control of infection is achieved by using antibiotics; hence scrutiny of antibiotic prescribing patterns is an important aspect of quality and standards of clinical practice. Objective: To evaluate and analyse drug utilization and prescription pattern of antibiotics in various in-patient departments of the hospital to ensure safe and effective use. Methods and Material: A Retrospective Observational Study was carried out in 6 inpatient departments of Vivekananda General Hospital, Hubballi over a period of 1 year. A total of 993 prescriptions were collected, and the results were analyzed using MS Excel 2020, and SPSS 16.0. Results: This study reveals that the majority of patients belonging to the age group 41-60 years, received antibiotic therapy. Most patients were prescribed with antibiotic Ceftriaxone, 21.19% (n=402). Majority of the patients received antibiotics for Prophylactic treatment (44.65%). It was found that most of the patients were prescribed only one antibiotic (43.1%) whereas only 2.51% of patients were prescribed more than 4 antibiotics. Also, the prescription duration for most antibiotics was either 3 or 5 days. Conclusion: The worldwide increase in antimicrobial resistance is of great concern, and it is the responsibility of the prescribers to develop good prescribing habits. This can be achieved by educating clinicians through CME, seminars on standard treatment guidelines, essential drug list, and role of sensitivity testing in rational antibiotic prescribing.