Prescribing pattern of antibiotic misuse in a hospital in the north of Iran

Improper prescription of the type, dose, and duration of antibiotics imposes a financial burden on the health system, can cause many side effects for the patient, and can lead to the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. This study aimed to determine the profile of prescribing antibiotics in different wards of a hospital and compare it with references.

This study was conducted on the recorded information of 342 patients in the emergency, infectious diseases, pulmonary, and surgical wards of Sayad Shirazi Hospital in Gorgan (north of Iran) in 2019-2020. The type, dose, and duration of the prescribed antibiotics were extracted from each patient's file and compared with references. The compatibility and inconsistency of the prescribed antibiotics were identified and analyzed accordingly.

A total of 13 types of antibiotics were prescribed for the patients. There was a 43.7% inconsistency in antibiotic prescription with the references. The most prescribed antibiotic was ceftriaxone (25.6%). Ceftriaxone (11.26%), followed by cefazolin (8.30%), had the most inconsistency in prescription. The most inconsistency in total was respectively observed in the pulmonary (47.9%), general surgery (44.8%), emergency (44.4%), and infectious diseases wards (40.6%). No significant difference was observed between the wards in terms of the total inconsistency of prescribed antibiotics with the references (P = 0.692).

The most prescribed antibiotic was ceftriaxone. A high percentage of its prescriptions are without indication and are actually prescribed as empiric. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the prescription of antibiotics in medical centers based on the indications and available evidence.