Assessment of antibiotic utilization pattern in hospital settings

Abstract

Drug utilization evaluation is an effective tool for detecting the possible drug related problems and in enhance the clinical use of drugs in public and its impact on the health care system. This tool is adapted by pharmacists to assess appropriate use of medication. DUE usually focus on drugs with more sideeffects, high cost or complex dosing regimens. It is important for almost all drugs especially for antibiotics because of its increased utilizationin hospitals and community settings. In prior to starting antimicrobial therapy, the prescriber should consider the type of infection, characteristics of the antibiotic, its category of use, spectrum of activity, cost-effectiveness and duration of therapy. The evolution of multidrug resistance and the emergence of multidrug-resistant microbes are on the rise which can be reduced by increasing the habits of appropriate antibiotic prescribing for the successful outcome of the therapy. Prescribing an antibiotic by understanding the significance of antimicrobial stewardship and following an appropriate guideline may lead to appropriate selection of an antibiotic. Hence, antibiotic utilization studies can help in improving the practice of rational use of antibiotics thereby improving patient safety, which in turn helps in reducing antimicrobial resistance, drug related problems and risk of mortality and morbidity.