DRUG USE EVALUATION OF THIRD GENERATION CEPHALOSPORINS IN A TERTIARY CARE TEACHING HOSPITAL

Background: Inappropriate use of antibiotics specifically, the broad spectrum antibiotics in hospital results in resistance to antibiotics. Assessment of antimicrobial use can be performed by evaluating their use . Drug use evaluation is a performance improvement method that focuses on evaluation and improvement of drug use processes to achieve optimal patient outcomes. Objective: The present work was undertaken to study the drug utilization evaluation of third generation cephalosporins in the inpatient department of various wards of Navodaya Medical College & Hospital , Raichur Materials & Methods: This is a prospective observational study conducted in Navodaya Medical College & Hospital from November 2015 to April 2016. A total of 100 case records of inpatients in medicine, surgery and pediatric wards were reviewed. Relevant information was recorded in a structured proforma & data was evaluated. Results: Prescriptions of 100 patients containing third generation cephalosporins were collected and the utilization pattern were analyzed by using WHO drug core indicators. The average number of drugs per prescription was found to be 8.62. Only 2.43% of drugs were prescribed by generic name. The percentage of total prescrip tions for antibiotics was 13.92%, for injections were 12.06% and drugs prescribed from EDL was 53.82%. Ceftriaxone was most frequently prescribed (64%) third generation cephalosporins in parenteral form, followed by cefoperazone(15%). Gender analysis revealed that male (56%) patients prescribed with third generation cephalosporins were more compared to female (44%). With regard to age, 73.33% of males were in above 60 years age group while 66.66% of females were in 11-20 years age group. Conclusion: Our study concludes that, awareness about the drug-drug interactions among health care professionals, computerized systems for prescription and drug information, as well as collaborative drug selection and pharmaceutical care are some of the possible solutions to the drug usage related problems. Hence, the involvement of clinical pharmacists in clinical practice helps to increase proper usage of cephalosporins and optimum outcome.