Prescribing pattern of antibiotics in community-acquired pneumonia in a teaching hospital of Southeast Asia

Abstract

Objective: To study and describe the antibiotic prescribing habits of physicians for 117 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Materials and Methods: A medicine consultant or a pulmonologist supervised and treated 45 (38%) patients. Out of 45 patients, 7 (16%) were given macrolide, 12 (26%) received beta-lactam antibiotics, 14 (31%) were given a combination of beta-lactam and macrolide, and 12 (26%) were given a combination of more than one antibiotics. Seventy-two (62%) patients were seen by other specialists, of whom 5 (6%) were given macrolide, 35 (48%) were given beta-lactam, 4 (6%) were administered a combination of beta-lactam and macrolide, 2 (3%) received quinolones, and 26 (36%) patients received various combinations. In 47 out of 117 patients, therapy was modified, which included 12 patients who underwent step-down switch. The duration of hospitalization was 26 days for those patients whose therapy was modified. Patients who underwent step-down switch had a hospital stay of 7 days, whereas those who did not have any modification in the treatment stayed for 10 days in the hospital. Results: Beta-lactam antibiotic was more commonly used, at least 3.8 times more than a macrolide. Other combinations of antibiotics were given in 28%, 68%, and 44% of patients treated by a medicine specialist, pulmonologist, and other specialties, respectively. Conclusion: These data demonstrate that in spite of the advances of knowledge in the management of CAP, there exists variability in the prescribing habits of the attending physician.