Usage Pattern of Antimicrobial Agents in Surgical Patients of a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital in Ajman, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The extensive use of AMAs has paved the pathway for antibiotic resistance among commonly encountered microorganisms. Additionally, rational use of antimicrobial agents (AMAs) is extremely vital for positive patient outcomes. Hence, we aimed to analyse the pattern of use of AMAs in patients who had undergone surgery at Thumbay Hospital, Ajman, United Arab Emirates and to study the incidence of adverse drug reactions in the same group of patients. The data were collected over a one-year period after Institutional Ethics Committee approval. Case record analysis of AMAs prescribed to surgical patients was done with the help of a questionnaire. Most surgeries were related to ano-rectal (24%), obstetrics (23.5%) and ENT (14%) problems. AMAs were prescribed to 86.5% of the patients as surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis (SAP), with the majority being prescribed only one AMA (45.8%). Metronidazole (40.9%), Ceftriaxone (21.2%) and Cefuroxime (10.8%) were the leading AMAs for SAP. Almost all the patients (91.5%) were prescribed AMAs at discharge and Cefuroxime (23.2%), Metronidazole (20.7%) and Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid combination (17.7%) were the principal AMAs recommended. The average duration of prescription of AMAs at discharge was 6.4 days. Mild adverse drug reactions were encountered, which did not pose any serious health risk to the patients. Proactive interventions focusing on the surgical team like formal educational sessions on antimicrobial stewardship, consistent auditing and regular updates about current SAP guidelines are the need of the hour.