Assessing the antimicrobial prescription request process in a teaching hospital in Brazil: regulations and training

It is known that antimicrobials are often prescribed inappropriately. One method used to deal with this problem is to regulate antimicrobial use by monitoring prescriptions. We report a study of physician compliance with the request for antibiotic process which was prepared and reviewed by a special infection control committee in our hospital the Nosocomial Infection Prevention Service (SCIH). The objective of this study was to identify the profile of inappropriate requests for restricted therapeutic antimicrobials used at Nossa Senhora da Conceição Hospital (HNSC), in Porto Alegre, Brazil. All 3,389 requests for therapeutic antimicrobials made between May 20, and October 31, 1996, were assessed and classified as appropriate and inappropriate. We determined that 17. 8% of the requests were inappropriate (a total of 720 errors). These were categorized according to 12 reasons for inappropriateness. Of these, the 3 most frequent inappropriate requests were deviation from standard use (26.73%), inappropriate length of treatment (23. 19%), and unfounded justification (13.61%). The reasons for inappropriateness were also arranged in three categories considering the following aspects: I. technical (59%); II. compatibility with the institutional program (32.36%), and III. administrative (8.61%). The 720 requests that were initially rejected were evaluated to see how antibiotic use was affected. In approximately 400 (55%), the forms could be appropriately modified after discussion with the physician. We conclude from this study that most of the inappropriate requests for antimicrobials in our hospital can be remedied by educating the staff since the errors were largely technical in nature. Thus, the SCIH should focus more on its role as an educational rather than as a regulatory body. By expanding this educational role, we anticipate improved physician compliance with our guidelines, and more appropriate antimicrobial prescribing and usage.