Publication:

Antibiotic usage pattern among inpatients of a paediatric ward in a tertiary care hospital in Eastern India

Background The inevitable consequence of the widespread use of antimicrobial agents has been the emergence of antibiotic resistant pathogens. The rising incidence of bacterial resistance to common antibiotics, particularly, multi-drug resistant pneumococci, has prompted the need to use antibiotics judiciously in paediatric practice. The present study thus attempted to understand the antibiotic usage pattern among inpatients in a paediatric ward of a tertiary care hospital.

Methods A cross-sectional study was carried out for three months among the inpatients in the Department of Pediatrics in a tertiary care teaching hospital, Kolkata. The data regarding patient’s demographics and antibiotic use was collected daily in a pre-structured proforma. A descriptive statistical analysis of the data was performed.

Results A total of 124 patients were screened of which males and females represented 58.06% and 41.94% of the cases respectively with age group of 2-14 years presenting in majority. Among various causes of hospitalization, prevalence of respiratory disorders were maximum (25.81%), followed by hematological disorders (25%). Among various categories of prescribed drugs, antibiotics were found to be maximum (39.25%). Beta-lactum antibiotics were prescribed in majority (64.41%) with 56.91% being of cephalosporin group. The preferred route of administration was found to be parenteral (64%). 61.29 % cases were ordered laboratory investigations prior to the antimicrobial therapy initiation.  About 63.16% of the total samples for culture & sensitivity tested were reported positive. 39.58% of these positive cases showed resistance to empirical antibiotic therapy on lab reports.

Conclusions The study enables to obtain information on the antibiotic usage pattern in the pediatric population, focusing on prevalence of antibiotic misuse in our set-up and suggesting strategies of its minimization.