Abstract
BackgroundAlthough non-teaching community hospitals form the majority of healthcare providers in South Korea, there is limited data on antibiotic usage in them. To evaluate the pattern of antibiotic usage and its appropriateness in hospitals with < 400 beds in South Korea.MethodsA multicentre retrospective study was conducted in 10 hospitals (six long-term care hospitals, three acute care hospitals, and one orthopaedic hospital), with < 400 beds in South Korea. We analysed patterns of antibiotic prescription in 2019, and their appropriateness in the participating hospitals. For the evaluation of the appropriateness of the prescription, 25 patients under antibiotic therapy were randomly selected at each hospital, over two separate periods. Due to the heterogeneity of their characteristics, the orthopaedics hospital was excluded from the analysis.ResultsThe most commonly prescribed antibiotics in long-term care hospitals was fluoroquinolone, followed by beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor (anti-pseudomonal). In acute care hospitals, these were third generation cephalosporin, followed by first generation cephalosporin, and second generation cephalosporin. The major antibiotics that were prescribed in the orthopedics hospital was first generation cephalosporin Only 2.3% of the antibiotics were administered inappropriately. In comparison, 15.3% of patients were prescribed an inappropriate dose. The proportion of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions was 30.6% of the total antibiotic prescriptions.ConclusionsThe antibiotic usage patterns vary between non-teaching community hospitals in South Korea. The proportion of inappropriate prescriptions exceeded 30% of the total antibiotic prescriptions.
Highlights
Antibiotics are one of the most significant discoveries in modern medical history
The misuse of antibiotics can lead to an increase in antibiotic-resistant pathogens as well as infectious diseases caused by these pathogens [3, 4]
Given that the antibiotic prescription might be evaluated as ‘inappropriate’ when the diagnosis of infectious diseases was incorrect, we evaluated the appropriateness of the diagnosis; the standard for the evaluation of each infectious disease was distributed to infectious disease specialists (Additional file 3: Supplement 4)
Summary
Antibiotics are one of the most significant discoveries in modern medical history These drugs have saved innumerable lives; the timely administration of appropriate antibiotics, in particular, can reduce morbidity and mortality in patients with infectious diseases [1, 2]. Excessive use of antibiotics is related to Clostridioides difficile infections or adverse drug events, which may require additional hospital stay, increasing healthcare costs [5, 6]. To reduce such harmful effects, optimize antibiotic use for infectious diseases, and minimize unnecessary use, the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) was implemented globally [7]. To evaluate the pattern of antibiotic usage and its appropriateness in hospitals with < 400 beds in South Korea
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