Study of antibiotic consumption using a novel unit among indoor pediatric patients in India

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Pediatric Drug Utilization
• Drug Dosing Standardization

Background:

• The standard Defined Daily Dose/100 Patient Days (DDD/100 PD) is unsuitable for pediatric drug use due to varying patient weights and ages.
• Accurate measurement of pediatric antibiotic consumption is crucial for effective treatment and antimicrobial stewardship.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the suitability of different units for measuring antibiotic consumption in pediatric populations.
• To introduce and validate a novel unit, DDD/100 PD/Mean Body Weight (DDD/100 PD/MBW), for pediatric drug quantification.

Main Methods:

• Antibiotic consumption was measured using DDD/100 PD, DDD per 1000 Kilogram-Days (DDD/1000 Kg-D), and the novel DDD/100 PD/MBW unit.
• A pediatric cohort was divided into four sub-cohorts based on increasing mean body weight.
• Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relationship between drug consumption units and duration of treatment (DOT).

Main Results:

• The novel unit, DDD/100 PD/MBW, demonstrated a strong correlation (0.975) with DOT, similar to DDD/1000 Kg-D (0.981).
• In contrast, DDD/100 PD showed a weaker correlation (-0.859) with DOT.
• The DDD/100 PD/MBW unit proved to be independent of both body weight and age in the pediatric cohort.

Conclusions:

• The novel unit DDD/100 PD/MBW is a reliable and standardized method for quantifying antibiotic consumption in pediatric patients.
• This new unit addresses the limitations of traditional measures, offering a more accurate approach to pediatric drug utilization studies.
• Implementing DDD/100 PD/MBW can improve antimicrobial stewardship and optimize drug dosing strategies in children.