Drug Utilization Evaluation of Antibiotics in Intensive Care Units of a Referral Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Background: Drug Utilization Evaluation (DUE) studies are designed to assess drug usage appropriateness. This study aimed to evaluate the drug utilization of antibiotics in the intensive care units (ICUs) of a referral teaching hospital.Methods: Patients hospitalized in ICU who received antibiotics were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Patients’ medical charts were reviewed and data including indication of antibiotics, dosing, dose adjustment, and culture sensitivity test were recorded in a predesigned data collection form. Related guidelines and references were used for judgement about the correctness of these parameters.Results: Among 182 evaluated antibiotic prescriptions, 75.8% of the cases were prescribed empirically that for 31.88% of them, microbial culture and sensitivity test were requested. Indication was appropriate in 51.6%. Fifteen patients needed antibiotic dose adjustment that was performed just for 4 patients. Doses of antibiotics were correct in 58.5% of cases. Meropenem (15.9%), Metronidazole (15.9%), and vancomycin (11.5%) were the most frequently prescribed antibiotics.Conclusion: Use of antibiotics in ICUs of our hospital is associated with high rate of errors especially in the aspects of medical indication and dosage.

Keywords

• Drug Utilization Review; Drug Utilization, Evaluation; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Intensive Care Units