Appropriate utilization of restricted antibiotics in a general hospital of a perfecture area in Greece.

Abstract

Over-consumption of antibiotics has led to increased bacterial resistance and higher prevalence of hospital -acquired infections, resulting in rising treatment costs and prolonged length of hospital stay. The purpose of the study was to correlate the use of restricted antibiotics with recommended diagnosis and cost. All restricted antibiotics that were administered in a 240-bed general hospital in a semi-urban area within a year were recorded. The reason for administering each such antibiotic during the first three months of the study was also recorded. PASW 18 (SPSS Inc.) was used for the statistical analysis; a variable was considered statistically significant when statistical significance was p= 0.05. 1118 patients were registered, of which 35,05% were employees, insured with IKA, 33,05% were farmers and covered by OGA and 31,9% were insured in other Social Insurance Funds or uninsured. The most commonly administered antibiotic combination was that of piperacillin/tazobactam, which was mainly used in the Internal Medicine Dept. of the Hospital. The most commonly used restricted antibiotic, administered after an antibiogram, was the combination of piperacillin/tazobactam (n= 13), mainly prescribed for respiratory infection. One third of the recorded restricted antibiotics were administered before an antibiogram had been taken for fever of unknown origin (n= 128). Rational use of restricted antibiotics is an important component of public health policies aiming at reducing hospital-acquired infections. Hospitalization costs rise when restricted antibiotics are used, and the possibility for the development of resistant bacteria increases.