A STUDY OF THE ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIPTION PATTERN AMONG THE INDOOR PATIENTS IN THE MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL IN NORTH EAST INDIA

BACKGROUND Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in a hospital setting, be it paediatric or adult age group. These are substances or compounds which are used to treat infections caused by microorganisms including fungi and protozoa. Their inappropriate and indiscriminate use can potentially cause a number of problems. Because of an overall rise in health care costs, lack of uniformity in drug prescribing and the emergence of antibiotic resistance, monitoring and control of antibiotic use is of growing concern and strict antibiotic policies should be warranted. Before such policies can be implemented, detailed knowledge of antibiotic prescribing practice is important. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross sectional, retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Medicine at a Tertiary Care Hospital from May to August 2016. The records of all patients admitted during the study period will be examined. Proportion of patients who were prescribed antibiotics will be found out and details of antibiotic use within this period will be isolated. RESULTS 300 patients were prescribed antibiotics; 49% were male. 385 antibiotics were prescribed. 45% (135) of the patients were on therapy with a single antibiotic, 50% (151) of patients were on therapy with two antibiotics while 5% (14) of patients were on therapy with three antibiotics. Most commonly prescribed antibiotics were cephalosporins followed by quinolones, penicillins, aminoglycosides and macrolides. CONCLUSION Antibiotic usage was found to be reasonable although polypharmacy was prescribed. Usage of generic drugs was considerable and broad-spectrum antibiotics were highly used