Assessment of inappropriate antibiotic use in pediatric patients: Point-prevalence study

This study aimed to determine inappropriate antibiotic use in a children's hospital using the point-surveillance method.

One hundred thirteen hospitalized patients were included in the study on the study day. In all patients, data regarding age, sex, antibiotic use, type and dose of antibiotic if used, multiple antibiotic use, presence or absence of consultation with infectious diseases specialist before initiation of antibiotic, form of antibiotic use (empiric, targeted or prophylactic), and reason for antibiotic use were recorded. Inappropriate antibiotic use was determined by an infectious diseases specialist.

The rate of antibiotic use was 70.8%. Of the patients receiving antibiotics, 43% were using more than one antibiotic. It was found that 73.7% of antibiotics were prescribed for empiric purposes and 14.3% for targeted therapy, whereas 12% were prescribed for prophylactic purposes. The rate of inappropriate antibiotic use was 33.8% among patients who were given antibiotics. Unnecessary antibiotic prescription was the most common cause for inappropriate antibiotic use (51.9%), followed by unnecessary multiple antibiotic use (29.6%), inaccurate dosing (11.1%), use of broader spectrum than required (7.4%), and use of antibiotics with narrower spectrum than needed (3.7%). The rate of inappropriate antibiotic use was significantly lower in antibiotics that required confirmation by an infectious diseases specialist (6.7%) than those not requiring confirmation (26.3%; p=0.023). The rate of inappropriate antibiotic use was significantly lower in antibiotics prescribed by infectious diseases specialists (8.6%) than those prescribed by other physicians (26.5%, p=0.027).

Antibiotic use based on consultation with an infectious diseases specialist decreased inappropriate antibiotic use.