Use of antibiotics in ambulatory care patients and at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases

Introduction Optimal pharmacotherapy includes utilization of the right drug at the right time, right duration of therapy and adequate dosage. This study analyzed utilization of antimicrobial drugs at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases of the Clinical Center Novi Sad and in outpatients of the Outpatient General Service of the Health Center Novi Sad - Liman. Material and methods Utilization of anti-infective agents was examined according to Anatomic-Therapeutic-Chemical Classification (group J). Drug utilization data were presented in Defined Daily Doses at the Clinic of Infectious Diseases of the Clinical Center Novi Sad in Defined Daily Doses per 100 bed-days, and in the Outpatient General Service of the Health Center Novi Sad - Liman in Defined Daily Doses/1000 inhabitants per day. Results At the Clinic of Infectious Diseases of the Clinical Center Novi Sad penicillins susceptible to beta-lactamase were established as most frequently used (39.33%) namely: benzylpenicillin (32.18%), quinolone antibacterial agents ciprofloxacin (12.44%) and cephalosporins, cephalexin (8.25%). In the Outpatient General Service of the Health Center Novi Sad - Liman most frequently used were extended-spectrum penicillins (24.20%) namely tetracyclines, doxycycline (18.98%), amoxicillin (18.27%), macrolides roxithromycin (17.56%). At the Clinic of Infectious Diseases of the Clinical Center Novi Sad the decision on using antibiotics and establishing whether it was bacterial or virus infection in 92.13% cases was made on the basis of following analyses: throat and nasal swabs, urine culture, virus complement-binding reaction. In Outpatient General Service of the Health Center Novi Sad - Liman it was done only in 18.46%. Conclusion Although treatment performed based on clinical picture and experience usually proves to be correct, antibiotic prescription policy should include antibiograms to provide optimal treatment and decrease the degree of resistance. Thus medicine would be considered an exact science and it should be one of its goals of the 21st century.