European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Aim: To assess the prescribing pattern of antibiotics in patients attending ENT OPD in a tertiary care hospital.
Methods: This prospective observational study was carried out in the Department of Pharmacology, A.N.M. Medical College and Hospital, Gaya, Bihar, India, for 1 year. Prescriptions were evaluated based on the world health organization (WHO) core drug prescribing indicators (average number of drugs per prescription, average number of antibiotics per prescription, average duration of antibiotic drug treatment and percentage of antibiotics prescribed by generic name).  Antibiotic prescribing pattern based on the group, route of administration, duration, dosage formulation and fixed dose combinations (FDC) was also analyzed.
Results: A total of 400 prescriptions were collected from the ENT OPD and analyzed. 36.25% of the prescriptions were prescribed for patients between the age group of 20-30 years, followed by the age group of 30-40 years (22.75%). 65% of prescriptions were prescribed to males in comparison to 35% prescribed among females. Average number of antibiotics prescribed per prescription was 1.26. In 77% of the patients received a single antibiotic. Most of the dosage form were tablets (43%), followed by capsules (28.75%) and topical drops (21.75%). Commonest route of administration prescribed was oral (80%) followed by topical application (19.5%) and least was intravenous route (0.5%). Commonly prescribed antibiotics belonged to penicillin group (42.75%) and quinolones (21.25%). Topical preparations of polymyxin were also prescribed (table 5). Most common prescribed FDC was amoxicillin with clavulanic acid .
Conclusion: Amoxicillin and clavulanic acid combination was the most commonly prescribed antibiotic in our study. Interventions to rectify the use of brand names is necessary to promote rational drug use. An antibiotic policy has to be developed for the doctors in treating infections so that rationality in using the antibiotics will be developed and the occurrence of antibiotic resistance can be reduced