ASSESSMENT OF ANTIBIOTICS PRESCRIPTION PATTERN BY USING WHO PRESCRIBING INDICATORS IN GENERAL MEDICINE WARD OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: Antibiotics encompass a great extent of the important cornerstone in clinical medicine. Antibiotics are being used more often for treatment, prophylaxis, and diagnosis as the diversity of infectious illnesses grows. Irrational prescribing of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance, ineffective treatment, polypharmacy, and an increase in treatment cost. This study is to assess prescribing pattern of antibiotics in the general medicine ward of a tertiary care hospital, Chitradurga. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out for a period of six months. A self-designed data collection form was used to collect the data from the prescriptions. The collected data was entered and analysed using Microsoft Excel. Results: In 300 prescriptions, a total of 2,468 drugs were prescribed, with an average of 8.2 drugs per prescription. A total of 719 antibiotics were prescribed, with an average of 2.3 per prescription. Percentage of antibiotics prescribed by generic name was 6% and prescribed according to EDL was 74%. About 96% of prescriptions containing antibiotics are in injection form. Ceftriaxone (30.32%) was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic. Cephalosporins (44.51%) were the most frequently prescribed class of antibiotics. Conclusion: This study indicate that prescription pattern was not optimal compared to the recommended values of the WHO core prescribing indicators. The prescribing practices were not appropriate as they consisted of polypharmacy, lesser prescription by generic name, and parenteral route of administration more than the oral route. Hence, there is a need to implement the standards of antibiotic guidelines prescribed rational therapy.