Variations in antibiotic use across India: multi-centre study through Global Point Prevalence survey

Area of Science:

• Medical Microbiology
• Infectious Diseases
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance is a global health crisis.
• Understanding prescribing patterns is crucial for effective stewardship.
• India faces unique challenges in antimicrobial use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate antimicrobial prescribing practices in Indian tertiary care hospitals.
• To identify variations in antimicrobial use across different clinical settings.
• To assess the quality of antibiotic prescribing.

Main Methods:

• A point prevalence survey (PPS) was conducted from October to December 2017.
• Data were collected from 16 tertiary care hospitals across India.
• 1750 inpatients were surveyed, with 1005 receiving 1578 antimicrobials.

Main Results:

• Antimicrobials were prescribed for community-acquired infections (26.87%), hospital-acquired infections (19.20%), medical prophylaxis (17.24%), and surgical prophylaxis (28.70%).
• Low scores were observed for antibiotic prescribing quality indicators, including documentation of rationale and post-prescription review.
• Widespread antibiotic usage was evident across the surveyed hospitals.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights extensive antimicrobial consumption in Indian hospitals.
• There is a critical need to implement and strengthen antibiotic stewardship initiatives.
• Promoting evidence-based antimicrobial prescribing is essential to combat resistance.