APPRAISAL OF ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION IN COMMUNITY OF DISTRICT DERA ISMAIL KHAN, PAKISTAN

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Muhammad Rehan Malik
Tayyaba Khalid
Mudassar Mazher
Umer Shaukat
Musrat Sana
Sidra
Umar Farooq
Saad Ashfaq Cheema
Iram Bibi
Shahnila Jamil
Bareera Akram
Mansoor Azam
Sheikh Abdur Rashid

Keywords

Antibiotic, Prescription, Conformity to Guidelines, Resistance, Prescription Trends

Abstract

In developing nations, antibiotics are the medication classes most frequently prescribed. Improper use of antibiotics leads to public health issues and is responsible for antimicrobial resistance. The goal of the current study was to ascertain the community's non-infectious disease practitioners' prescription practices, examining the appropriateness of the antibiotic prescriptions in regards to antibiotic choice, duration of treatment, dose as well as misuse in case of viral infections. A pilot cross-sectional research was conducted on ward individuals who had been prescribed antibiotics. It took place over four months in different wards of the D.H.Q teaching hospital of D.I.Khan. Participants responded to questions on their socio-demographic characteristics, medical concerns, symptoms that necessitated medical care, the doctor's diagnosis, the antibiotic that was recommended, and its misuse in case of viral infections as well as whether or not laboratory tests were requested to determine the causing organism. The results revealed that the most popular antibiotics prescribed were ceftriaxone (36%) and that RTIs accounted for approximately half of the illnesses over which antibiotics had been prescribed (24.7%).


The study also revealed that whilst prescription dose plus treatment duration were incorrect in 51% as well as 51% of the cases, respectively, the antibiotic choice was appropriate in 51% of the cases. The selection of drug conformity towards guidelines lowered from 48.8% ( day 1 of fever) to 22.2% (week 1 of fever), plus compliance of dose prescription to standards had been significantly greater (45.9%) for individuals having fever in comparison to individuals who did not have fever (41.5%), suggesting that fever may have also influenced the prescription of the physician. This study revealed a significant incidence of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions in D.I.Khan. Hence, steps should be taken to make improvements in the prescription of antibiotics.

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