Antibiotic prescription pattern in pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary care hospital: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Incidence of infections in patients admitted to the Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is high which results in the use of antimicrobials for a prolonged duration and numbers. The rising incidence of antibiotic resistance has made it obligatory for antibiotics to be prescribed reasonably in pediatric patients. Aims and Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the antibiotic prescription pattern for patients admitted in pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in PICU. Two hundred and seventy-five pediatric patients were incorporated in this study. The patients’ data were collected from the case sheets, recorded, and analyzed. Results: The majority (80%) of patients admitted in PICU received antibiotic(s). About 68.18% of patients were prescribed only one antibiotic. Patients in the age group of 1 m–<1 year (58.18%) received more antibiotics. Pneumonia emerged to be the foremost reason for antibiotic use (45%), followed by Meningitis (14.54%). Ceftriaxone (28.27%) was the antibiotic prescribed most often. About 80.34% of antibiotics were prescribed by their generic names and 5.86% of antibiotics were prescribed as fixed-dose combinations. Conclusion: Antimicrobial resistance has become a global issue that should be tackled with extreme prudence and vigilance. This study provides insight on antibiotic prescription pattern in PICU and can prevent unnecessary use of antimicrobials.