Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Use among Admitted Patients in Tertiary Care hospital: An observational study

Background Monitoring the antimicrobial use is one of the key strategies to address the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance. Objective To find out antimicrobial usage at tertiary care hospital of Lalitpur, Nepal. Result An observational cross-sectional study was carried out at the Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal on September 25 and 26, 2023. World Health Organization point prevalence survey methodology was used with minor modification to meet hospital's context. The data on antimicrobial usage were collected from the medical records of patients admitted at or before 08:00 am on the day of the study in the acute care ward. Result The study involved 324 inpatients, with females comprising 176 (54.3%) and males 148(45.7%). The mean age was 37.89 years ± 24.87. Antibiotics usage was 78.1%. A total of 471 drug was prescribed of which 312 (66.2%) was used for therapeutic purpose and 159 (33.8%) for prophylaxis. Of 312 antibiotics, 283 (90.7%) were utilized empirically. Majority of prescribed medications belonged to watch group 16 (48.5%). Ceftriaxone was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic 142 (30.1%) and was the preferred choice for surgical prophylaxis 68 (94.4%). A total of 24 (72.7%) drugs were prescribed from the National List of Essential Medicines and 432 (91.7%) prescriptions were written using generic names. Conclusion The use of antibiotic was high, with good adherence to essential medicines and generic prescribing. Strengthening antimicrobial stewardship and evidence-based practices can further optimize prescribing, enhance patient safety and help combat antimicrobial resistance effectively.