Antibiotic utilization pattern in burn patients admitted at tertiary hospital: A retrospective study

Burn patients are at high risk for nosocomial infection. Antibiotics are the key drugs for the treatment of infections. Overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics increase both bacterial resistance and the cost of treatment. The introduction of correct and rational use of antibiotics appears to be impossible without having the knowledge of the current situation of antibiotic consumption. So, the study was conducted to know the current situation of antibiotic utilization pattern in burn patients. MethodsA Retrospective review of medical records was done to analyze the utilization pattern of antibiotics. The data were collected from Kirtipur hospital from June 2018 to May 2019. All the admitted patients irrespective of age, gender who were prescribed antibiotics and presented within three days of burn were included in the study. Patients admitted for less than 24hrs of a time were excluded from the study. ResultsA total of 249 reviewed case records came under inclusion criteria. Among them 51.8% were female and 48.2% were male. Mostly affected age group was 15-29 years (34.5%). Flame burn (51.8%) was the main cause of the burn. The majority had second-degree burn and 36.90% had 0-10% burn. Third-generation cephalosporin, ceftriaxone had the highest DDD/100BD (19.05). The most frequently used antibiotics were ceftriaxone, cefazolin, and piperacillin+tazobactam. DU90% comprises 12 antibiotics out of 30 antibiotics. The average number of antibiotics prescribed was 2.12 with a range of 1 to 7. ConclusionsThis study revealed the trend of antibiotic utilization pattern in burn patients. Third-generation cephalosporin, ceftriaxone was the most prescribed antibiotic. Regular antibiotic consumption using DDD methodology is needed for regular monitoring of antibiotic consumption so that timely intervention can be made and this study can be used as a baseline study.