ADHERENCE TO IDSA GUIDELINES FOR TREATMENT OF COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED PNEUMONIA IN THE OUTPATIENT SETTINGS IN ONE PUBLIC HOSPITAL AT AL-SEIH REGION

Introduction Respiratory tract infections are one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality throughout the world, among them pneumonia is the infection that most frequently produces death. Evidence-based guidelines have been developed to improve the appropriate use of antibiotics. Methodology This is a retrospective study of the treatment of 100 adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) who were treated in the outpatient setting in a public hospital. The initial empirical treatment was classified as adhering or not to IDSA CAP treatment guideline. Results and Discussion The majority of the patients treated with either Amoxicillin (39%) or Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid (35 %). Most of the patients were not treated appropriately (95%). Only 5 patients were treated as the recommendations of the guideline. These results illustrate the needs for antibiotic stewardship to improve the prescribing, dispensing and the use of antibiotics. Conclusion Patients with CAP were treated inconsistently with the IDSA guideline. Non-adherence to guidelines recommendations may result in many negative outcomes. Therefore, it is important to follow the recommendations and to increase the awareness about the appropriate use of antibiotics. Key Words: Adherence, IDSA Guideline, Community-Acquired Pneumonia, outpatient