Antibiotic Prescription Patterns in aAn  Intensive Care Unit in the Kingdom of  Bahrain: An Observational Prospective  Study

Dr. Ahmed Al Ansari; Mohammed Azizullah Khan; Jalal AI Khan; Mohammed Lamine Hariz

Volume : II, Issue : XII, December - 2013

Antibiotic Prescription Patterns in aAn Intensive Care Unit in the Kingdom of Bahrain: An Observational Prospective Study

Dr. Ahmed Al Ansari, Mohammed Azizullah Khan, Jalal Ai Khan, Mohammed Lamine Hariz

Abstract :

Background: The aims of this study were to investigate the trend of antibiotic use and to determine the average cost of antibiotics prescribed in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods: We carried out an observational prospective study at a 10-bed tertiary-level ICU at the Bahraini Defence Force Hospital from Feuary 2013 until June 2013. We focused on the 75 patients who received antibiotics in the ICU. Our analysis calculates the total number of antibiotics, their class, dose, route, and cost, and presents the results through descriptive analysis and chi square techniques. Results: A total of 97 patients were admitted to the ICU department during the study period. Of those, 75 patients received antibiotics: 49 (65.3%) were medical and 26 (34.7%) were surgical patients. The mean age of all patients was 51.9 years (SD = 20.1), with the mean age of medical patients at 54.6 years (SD = 23.5) compared with mean age of 45.4 years (SD = 17.8) for surgical patients. The average length of the ICU stay was 7.5 days, ranging from a minimum of one day to a maximum of 36 days. Doctors prescribed a total of 27 antibiotics at admission for 75 of the 97 patients, with a mean of 1.59 (SD = 0.85) at the time of admission. Meropenem was the most common antibiotic used in the ICU, with the total dose of 554.5 grams for the group of patients. Conclusion: Antibiotics are prescribed for most of the patients admitted to the ICU. A careful selection for patients requiring antibiotics on admission to the ICU will dramatically reduce drug expenses and improve antibiotic performance.