Evaluation of Gentamicin Use in Pediatric Patients in Chena Primary Hospital Southwest Ethiopia: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Pharmaceuticals should be used appropriately, safely, and only when necessary. Irrational prescribing, dispensing, and patient usage of drugs can squander up to 50% of drug expenditure. Drug use assessment is a good tool for evaluating the rational use of drugs in health institutions, and it has increased performance. The goal of this study is to evaluate rational use of Gentamicin in Chena’s primary hospital. Methods: The research was carried out by evaluating the medical records of 106 Gentamicin patients using a retrospective systematic review. The study was conducted by reviewing the medication records of 106 patients who received Gentamicin during hospitalization at Chena's primary hospital from June 2020 to June 2021. Results and conclusions: Most patients were dosed at 5mg/kg/day (67%). The duration of therapy was found to be high, in the range of 4-7 days (45.3%). Gentamicin was mainly used as a sepsis treatment (45.3%). With a frequency of 67.9%, Ampicillin was the most regularly co-administered medicine. Gentamicin was only appropriate in 43 cases (40.6%) for the justification of usage. The majority of inappropriate usage was observed in terms of duration during sepsis treatment, followed by frequency for severe acute malnutrition treatment. The prescriber's adherence to the national Standard Treatment Guideline (STG) was deemed to be insufficient. Prescribers should follow the national standard treatment guidelines to increase rational use and prevent the development of resistance. Short-term training intensification and antimicrobial control systems are two of the hospital's viable alternatives. Gentamicin therapy doesn’t meet the current STG of Ethiopia.