Appropriate antibiotic prescribing pattern in hospitalized children

Area of Science:

• Pharmacoeconomics
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Antimicrobial Stewardship

Background:

• Antibiotic resistance and healthcare costs necessitate evaluating prescription patterns.
• Understanding antibiotic utilization in pediatric settings is crucial for optimizing treatment and expenditure.
• Prospective analysis of antibiotic use in two university hospitals provides current insights.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively analyze antibiotic prescription habits, focusing on appropriateness and cost-effectiveness.
• To compare antibiotic utilization and associated costs in pediatric wards of two distinct university hospitals.
• To identify trends in antimicrobial prescribing and inform strategies for optimizing usage and controlling costs.

Main Methods:

• Prospective data collection from electronic patient charts in pediatric wards at Rambam Health Care Campus (R) and Kaplan Medical Centre (K).
• Inclusion of demographic data, discharge diagnoses, antibiotic utilization (Defined Daily Dose - DDD, Drug Utilization 90% - DU90%), and costs (Drug Cost 90% - DC90%).
• Analysis of 505 children from R and 497 from K, with a focus on those hospitalized for infectious diseases (239 from R, 330 from K).

Main Results:

• Antibiotic appropriateness was high in both units: 84% in R and 91% in K (p>0.5).
• Significant differences in antibiotic utilization: R unit had higher DDD (241.7) and DU90% (217.5) compared to K unit (388 and 349.2, p<0.001).
• Kaplan Medical Centre (K) showed significantly lower median antibiotic costs (NIS 11.3 - 40.0) compared to Rambam Health Care Campus (R) (p<0.01).

Conclusions:

• Antibiotic treatment in both studied hospitals is deemed appropriate.
• Significant cost savings in antibiotic expenditure are achievable, as demonstrated by the K unit.
• Drug use evaluations serve as valuable tools for monitoring prescription trends, optimizing antibiotic use, and managing healthcare costs.