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Published on: August 30, 2018
Antibiotic consumption patterns in Iranian teaching hospitals
Azita Nabizadeh1, Zahra Jahangard-Rafsanjani1,2, Seyed Heidar Mohammadi3
1Department for Assessment and Control of Prescribing and Use of Medicines, Iran Food and Drug Administration, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Background:
There is a lack of national data on antibiotic consumption by teaching hospitals in Islamic Republic of Iran based on the WHO access, watch and reserve categorisation.
Aim:
To quantify antibiotic consumption by teaching hospitals in Islamic Republic of Iran.
Methods:
We analysed antibiotic consumption data for March 2023 to March 2024 across all 248 teaching hospitals in the 10 regions of Islamic Republic of Iran, using the WHO-defined daily dose methodology and the access, watch and reserve categorisation.
Results:
Median antibiotic consumption was 299 defined daily dose per 100 admissions per day. Hospitals in Region 10 had the highest overall consumption (24.3% of total consumption), while Region 7 showed the highest use of reserve group antibiotics. Across all hospitals and regions, watch antibiotics were the most used (61%), followed by access (37%) and reserve (2%). Ceftriaxone 1 g and cefazolin 1 g were the most frequently used (11% of total consumption each), followed by meropenem 1 g injection (8.8%) and vancomycin 0.5 g (7%).
Conclusion:
Our findings show high reliance on watch antibiotics, extensive cephalosporin use and prevalent parenteral formulations. There is a need to assess the appropriateness of antibiotic use in Iranian teaching hospitals in order to strengthen antibiotic stewardship.
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