Urinary Tract Infection: Prescribing Pattern of Antibiotics at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of drug utilization review is to ensure drugs are used appropriately, safely, and effectively to improve patient health status. The use of drugs in appropriate, safe, and effective manner would decrease the treatment cost for the patients. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is most common and can lead to secondary infections. Hence, continuous analysis of prescribing pattern in UTI is a vital one. With this information, the study was designed to determine various risk factors and prescribing pattern of rational use of antibiotics in UTI patients at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out in 100 patients in a tertiary care teaching hospital, by collecting patient data from the medical records of patients from General Medicine Department.Results: Analysis of prescribed drugs revealed that use of antibiotics such as ceftriaxone (35%) and amikacin (22%) were significantly higher than other drugs prescribed such as ciprofloxacin (16%), nitrofurantoin (15%), ofloxacin (5%), cefixime (3%), moxifloxacin (2%), and clarithromycin (2%). Culture sensitivity test was done only in 30% of the total cases (100) for which empirical treatment had to be applied rather than specific antibiotic treatment. The most common isolated organisms were Escherichia coli (60%), Proteus (20%), Klebsiella (13.33%), and Pseudomonas (6.66%). Conclusion:Cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, and quinolones were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics in this study. Present findings together with previous ones are suggestive of the need for periodic monitoring of antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the bacterial isolates to provide effective treatment.

Potential Drug-Drug Interactions in Patients With Urinary Tract Infections: A Contributing Factor in Patient and Medication Safety

“…Polypharmacy has become a serious concern among hospitalized patients with UTIs. These patients receive multiple therapies for treating comorbidities or associated complications (Dhodi et al, 2014; Panayappan et al, 2017). In literature, a positive relationship has been reported between pDDIs and polypharmacy, which is also indicated by our findings (Van-Leeuwen et al, 2013; Murtaza et al, 2016; Ismail et al, 2017).…”

“…Patients with UTIs are hospitalized due to the severe nature of the disease, comorbid illnesses, and associated complications (Briongos-Figuero et al, 2012). Such patients are usually prescribed with antipyretics and antibiotics including cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, and quinolones (Dhodi et al, 2014; Panayappan et al, 2017). Apart from the use of these drugs, a large number of other drugs are also prescribed in order to treat the associated symptoms and comorbid illnesses (Dhodi et al, 2014).…”