A Retrospective Study on Antibiotic Use in Different Clinical Departments of a Teaching Hospital in Zawiya, Libya

Abstract

A cross-sectional retrospective drug utilization study was conducted in different wards of Al-Zawia teaching hospital, Libya over 15 months. One hundred prescriptions were examined of which 51% were for females. The WHO indicators (utilization in DDD; DDD/1000inh/day) were used and ATC/DDD method was implemented. The most frequently prescribed antibiotic (30 times) was amoxicillin+clavulanic acid, while the least frequently prescribed antibiotics (1 time) was neomycin or cloxacillin. The DDD/1000inh/day of amoxicillin+clavulanic acid was the highest 11.69 and that of ciprofloxacin was the lowest 2.86. The ward with the highest number of prescribed antibiotics 35% was the surgery, while the ward with the lowest number of prescribed antibiotics 9% was the ENT. Average treatment period was rounded and found to be 5 days. In conclusion, our data showed overuse of amoxicillin+clavulanic acid in contrast to other antibiotics. High pharmacological effectiveness against most local and systemic infections, low incidence of side effects and availability in many suitable dosage forms with different strengths must be the reason that made prescribers prefer amoxicillin+clavulanic acid over the other antibiotics. There is a need for microbiological investigation before the treatment of the infections. This study helps the physicians to have precise idea about the prescription patterns prevalent in Libyan community.