Investigating the prevalence of antibiotics prescription in the toxicology ward of a referral hospital in the North of Iran

Antibiotic resistance of microorganisms is a serious problem in medicine. One of the most common reasons for this issue is the improper prescription of antibiotics by physicians. The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of using antibiotics in the toxicology ward of Razi Hospital. In this retrospective descriptive cross-sectional study, ۳۳۸ patients admitted to the toxicology ward of Razi hospital were enrolled from March ۲۰۱۸ until March ۲۰۱۹. A checklist of investigated factors including age, gender, fever, paraclinical findings, type of poisoning, and type of antibiotic prescribed was completed for all patients. About ۵۲.۱% of the participants were males and ۴۷.۹% were females. The mean age of participants was ۳۷.۰۷ ± ۱۷.۳۶ years. Antibiotics had been prescribed for ۴۹ patients. The most common form of poisoning was benzodiazepines. Also, ceftriaxone was the most common antibiotic prescribed to the patients. Fever existed in ۶۹.۴% of the patients receiving antibiotics. The most common paraclinical finding was abnormal complete blood count (CBC) in patients (leukocytosis) which was seen in ۸۳.۷% of them. The antibiotics mostly had been prescribed in the first two days of hospitalization. In the present study, antibiotics were prescribed in the toxicology ward for only ۱۴.۵% of the poisoned patients. Considering that ceftriaxone has been the most commonly prescribed antibiotic, its use has to be based on clinical evidence based on the necessary indications according to scientifically substantiated sources.

Keywords:

Drug use , Antibiotics , Toxicology ward