Pattern of Empirical Antibiotic Administration in Emergency Department of an Educational Hospital in Tehran

Antibiotic misuse is an important cause of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of empirical antibiotic administration in emergency department of an educational hospital. In this cross-sectional study we evaluated the pattern of antibiotic administration (indication, drug appropriateness, dose, and method of administration) in 190 patients who had been received antibiotic in emergency department of an educational hospital of Tehran Medical University in 2009. Data were collected from medical records and statistical analysis was performed by SPSSv.15 software. 55.8% of patients were male and 44.2% were female. Mean age of them was 56.61 ± 23.66. 26.3% of patients received one antibiotic and 73.7% received two antibiotics or more. The most common prescribed drug was ceftriaxone (72.1%). 63.7% of prescribed antibiotics were appropriate choice and 36.3% were inappropriate. Unnecessary antibiotic was prescribed in 15.8% of patients. Inappropriate dose and method of administration were 6.8% and 2.1%, respectively. Total mistakes in determination of indication of antibiotic, selection of appropriate drug, dose and administration method were 40.5%. Antibiotic misuse was more than what expected in a university hospital. It seems logical to conduct educational courses about antibiotic administration guidelines.