[Use of antimicribials at a University Hospital (1983-1987)]

We studied total utilization of antimicrobials from 1983 to 1987 at the Clinical Hospital, University of Chile. The method of defined daily doses suggested by the WHO was used for analysis. The peak value occurred in 1984 (28.3 DDD/1000 patient-days), the lowest in 1987 (19.9). Penicillins were the most frequently used drugs, followed by aminoglycosides and cephalosporins. The latter group was mainly used at the Intensive Care Unit (37.5% of total cephalosporin use) and by the Intermediate Surgical Unit (35.1%). Use of antimicrobials at the Neurology and Dermatology services represented 5.3 and 4.9% of total utilization, respectively (excluding cephalosporins). These methods may be employed for comparisons of antimicrobials use among Chilean hospitals.