Assessing the Prescription Pattern of Antimicrobial Agents in Intensive Care Unit at Tertiary Care Hospital

Antibiotic resistance is the major concern in developing countries especially in India, and the prime reason behind it is the irrational prescription of antibiotics. Therefore, assessment of the prescribing pattern of antibiotics in the intensive care unit (ICU) would help to ascertain the rational use of antibiotics in ICU. In a prospective observational study, prescription pattern of patients on antimicrobial agents for any infectious diseases was reviewed and assessed in ICU at a tertiary care hospital for 6 months. All the patients receiving at least one antibiotic except paediatric, pregnant, and lactating patients were included in the study. The prescriptions were also analysed in accordance with the indicators provided by WHO AWARE list. A total of 227 patients were enrolled in the study after obtaining their informed consent form. The majority of patients were in the age group 51 to 65 (33.48%) and males (54.18%). The most common pathological conditions for which patients admitted to ICU were acute gastroenteritis (21.68%), urinary tract infection (13.98), and viral fever (11.19%). Amongst all antimicrobial agents prescribed, cefoperazone along with sulbactam (20.29%) and ceftriaxone (18.84%) was most frequently prescribed followed by metronidazole (9.90%) and levofloxacin (6.76%). Broad-spectrum antibiotics were prescribed in 66% of the total enrolled patients, whereas only 9% of patients underwent a culture sensitivity test. As per the WHO AWARE list, 50% of antimicrobial agents were from the watch category followed by 20% and 17% from the access and reserve category, respectively. The high use of broad-spectrum antibiotics suggests that there is a need for more awareness amongst the health care professionals and communities about the emerging antibiotic resistance problem which is mainly due to over and inappropriate use of antibiotics.