Back to Search
Start Over
Antibiotic prescription patterns in the emergency department of a tertiary healthcare center in Nepal: a descriptive cross-sectional study.
- Source :
-
The Journal of international medical research [J Int Med Res] 2024 Sep; Vol. 52 (9), pp. 3000605241274513. - Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Objective: To describe antibiotic prescription patterns in the emergency department (ED) of a tertiary healthcare center in Nepal.<br />Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study of hospital records of patients who visited the ED.<br />Results: Of the 758 ED patients included in the study, 384 (50.6%) received a total of 536 antibiotic prescriptions. Common indications for antibiotic prescriptions included respiratory infection (37.5%), gastrointestinal infection (19.3%), urinary infection (10.4%), and prophylaxis (29.9%). Antibiotics listed as essential in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) and generic formulations were used in 77.1% and 61.9% of the antibiotic prescriptions, respectively. Injectable antibiotics were prescribed to 54.9% of the 384 patients. Frequently prescribed antibiotics included ceftriaxone (34.1%), metronidazole (18.5%), amoxicillin + clavulanic acid (15.9%), and cefixime (14.3%). Bacterial culture testing was performed in 15.1% of the patients who received antibiotics.<br />Conclusions: This study showed that overuse of antibiotics, prescription of branded antibiotics, prescription of antibiotics not listed in the NLEM, prophylactic use of antibiotics, and empirical treatment of suspected infections without isolation of pathogens were all prevalent. We recommend more research to determine the causes underlying these practices and develop interventions to limit such practices.<br />Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
- Subjects :
- Humans
Nepal
Cross-Sectional Studies
Male
Female
Adult
Middle Aged
Adolescent
Practice Patterns, Physicians' statistics & numerical data
Young Adult
Drug Prescriptions statistics & numerical data
Aged
Child
Ceftriaxone therapeutic use
Respiratory Tract Infections drug therapy
Metronidazole therapeutic use
Child, Preschool
Cefixime therapeutic use
Anti-Bacterial Agents therapeutic use
Tertiary Care Centers statistics & numerical data
Emergency Service, Hospital statistics & numerical data
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1473-2300
- Volume :
- 52
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- The Journal of international medical research
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 39238436
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1177/03000605241274513