CEPHALOSPORIN UTILIZATION EVALUATION IN A UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL: A PROSPECTIVE STUDY
Abstract
Objective: Cephalosporins are among the commonly used class of antibiotics in hospitals and healthcare facilities world-wide and the use of newer generation of Cephalosporins have increased in the developed countries with limited number of studies investigating the drug prescribing and utilization pattern in the hospital setting. Hence the present study was carried out aiming to systematically evaluate the prescribing and sensitivity patterns of various Cephalosporins in Medicine and Surgery inpatients in a University teaching Hospital of Mangalore district, Karnataka, India.
Methods: Cephalosporin utilization was evaluated in 400 inpatients of Medicine and Surgery department of a University teaching Hospital in a cross sectional prospective study for 5 months duration between June 2011-October 2011.
Results: 239(59.8%) patients from Medicine department and 161(40.2%) patients from Surgery department were enrolled in the present study. Patients with age group greater than or equal to 60 years received Cephalosporins maximum with 34% and 28% from Medicine and Surgery wards respectively. The median length of hospital stay was 10 days. The most widely prescribed formulation was parenterals (69%). The third-generation Cephalosporins were widely prescribed. 131 patients (32.8%) were prescribed Cephalosporin for surgical propylaxis and 56 patients (14%) to prevent infections. Culture test was performed in only 66(16.5%) cases, only 43 specimens showed positive culture test. Metronidazole was the most commonly co prescribed drug.
Conclusions: This study revealed the wider usage of Cephalosporins especially third-generation Cephalosporins. The treatment regimens implemented in most of the cases were without doing any culture sensitivity test which lead to irrational prescribing.
Key words: Cephalosporins, surgical prophylaxis, Drug utilization
DOI
https://doi.org/10.22270/jddt.v3i2.399
Published
Abstract Display: 729 
PDF Downloads: 958 How to Cite
Issue
Section
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
How to Cite
.