Cephalosporins Usage in Hospitals Before and After Iran’s Health Reform Plan

This study aimed to investigate the usage patterns of some parenteral cephalosporins in hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The study design consisted of one year before and one year after the implementation of Health Reform Plan (HRP) in Iran. The data were collected from 6 university hospitals, including Taleghani, Mofid, Akhtar, Loghman Hakim, Shohadaye Tajrish, and Mahdieh hospitals from 2014 to 2015. The obtained data were analyzed using the GraphPad Prism software. The total consumption of parenteral cephalosporins in the 6 hospitals was expressed in Defined Daily Dose (DDD) per
100 Bed Days (BD). DDD/100 BD increased from 149.132 to 149.454 DDD/100 one year following the implementation of HRP. This data indicates that the consumption of cefazolin, cefotaxime, ceftizoxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and cefepime were not significantly changed. Although lower doses (g/d) of ceftizoxime and cefotaxime were used, compared to the standard doses in hospitals, the consumed dose of ceftriaxone (g/d) was significantly higher than the standard DDD. The obtained results suggest that the HRP was probably not effective in improving irrational antibiotic consumption in Iran. Thus, it is necessary to employ stewardship programs to control such irrational usage. This program should be conducted under the supervision of clinical pharmacists and infectious disease specialists.