Adequacy of the special category antibiotics prescriptions in the Emergency Department of a third level urban Hospital

• Published in: Revista española de quimioterapia Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 24 - 31
• Main Authors: Osorio, G, Fresco, L, Monclús, E, Carbó, M, Ortega, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Spain 01-02-2020
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antimicrobial Stewardship; Bacterial Infections - drug therapy; Cross Infection - drug therapy; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Emergency Service, Hospital; Female; Hospitals, Urban; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Tertiary Care Centers; Adecuacy of antibiotic treatment; special category antibiotics; antimicrobial use optimization programs
• ISSN: 0214-3429; 1988-9518
• DOI: 10.37201/req/066.2019

The aim of the study was to analyze the adequacy of the special category antibiotics prescriptions in the Emergency Department (ED) of a third level urban Hospital.
A random sample of 100 different patients who were started with a special category antibiotic along 2018 in the ED was selected. The research team reviewed the medical history of the emergency and admission episode. The independent factors associated with the degree of adequacy of the treatment were determined by logistic regression.
A total of 97 prescriptions were analyzed of which 66 (68%) met the criteria of adequate prescription, 23 (24%) adequate prescription, but with equally recommended alternatives and 8 (8%) were inappropriate prescriptions. The degree of adequacy was 70% if the infection was related to healthcare and 75% if the patient had risk factors for mul-tiresistant (MR) microorganisms' infection. The percentage of adequacy was higher in the cases in which the focus of the infection (72%) and the severity of the episode (73%) were specified. The independent variables that were associated with an adequate prescription were: the presence of risk factors for MR microorganisms' infection (OR: 2.35 95% CI: 1.65 - 3.17 p: 0.01), if the focus of the infection (OR: 3.79 95% CI: 1.72 - 4.22 p: 0.02) and the severity of the episode (OR: 3.09 95% CI: 1.12 - 3.09 p: 0.03) were specified.
The prescription of special category antibiotics in ED is appropriate if the clinical guidelines are followed and if the setting of infection acquisition, the risk factors of MR microorganisms, the focus and the severity of infection are taken into account in clinical picture.