Antibiotics' prescribing pattern in intensive care unit in Taif, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Antibiotics continue to be widely prescribed in critically ill patients, and they form a significant proportion of the total drugs consumed in the intensive care unit (ICU). Objective: The aim of the present study was to identify antibiotics prescribing patterns for patients admitted to ICU at King Faisal Medical Complex (KFMC), Taif, Saudi Arabia to assess the appropriate use of antibiotics and its compliance to the KFMC local guidelines. Materials and Methods: The study participants included all patients admitted for at least 48 h at the ICU in KFMC and received antibiotic(s). A prospective, observational study was carried out over a period of 3 months from August to October 2017. A standard clinical record form was used. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBMSPSS, version 22). Results: From a total of 92 patients admitted to the ICU during the study, 429 antibiotic prescriptions were recorded that have been given to the patients, with an average of 4.6 antibiotics/prescription. Patients' average length of stay was 7.4 days. Ceftriaxone was the most frequently (21.7%) prescribed antibiotic followed by Tazocin® (17.7%), Metronidazole 15.1% and Meropenem 9.5%. Moreover, 69% of all prescribed antibiotics were compliant with the KFMC local guidelines. Conclusion: The high utilization rates of antibiotics prescribed during admission at KFMC's ICU were a matter of great concern. Therefore, they needed to be controlled by the use of local guidelines, surveillance, and antibiotic restriction policies of health care.