Antibiotic consumption and management at Kocani General Hospital – Annual report

The aim of the study was to get detailed insight into the antibiotic consumption trends in the three year period (2016-2018) in Kocani Hospital, to identify the most often prescribed antibiotics and to determine whether the treatment of given diagnosis was in accordance with the official guidelines. The survey covered all pediatric and infant patients admitted to the pediatric ward. Patients’ data included gender, age, diagnosis, antibiotic used and doses. The majority of admitted patients were in the age group of 0-1 (27.48%, 25.94% and 30.77% for 2016, 2017 and 2018, accordingly) followed by age group of 1-2 years (20.86%, 22,0% and 23.83% for 2016, 2017 and 2018, consequently) and 2-3 years (16.06%, 16.1% and 14.63% for 2016, 2017 and 2018, consequently) .The most frequent diagnosis was acute tonsillitis which was determined in ~21% of patients, pneumonia without complications in ~18% and acute bronchitis in ~16% of patients in the period 2016-2018. Results from conducted survey identified high prescription rate and use of antibiotics predominantly ceftriaxone (82.58%, 81.05% and 50.85% in 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively) contrary to official recommendations and evidences based on clinical data for treatment of the diagnoses in question. So, it is foreseeable to conclude that there is urgent need for restrictive and educational measures i.e. to strength the surveillance and monitoring of antibiotic prescription and usage and hence to promote awareness for rational use of antibiotics on all health-care levels. Key words: antibiotic prescription, antibiotic consumption, pediatric wards, annual report