Investigating the Antibiotic Prescribing in the Intensive Care Unit Wards of Namazi Hospital in Shiraz in 2020

Antibiotics are extensively utilized and constitute a significant portion of hospital drug expenses, posing challenges due to their overuse. Among hospital wards, the intensive care unit (ICU) is a major consumer of antibiotics. This study aimed to assess the antibiotic prescription rates within the ICU wards of Namazi Hospital in Shiraz. 

We retrieved and analyzed electronic prescriptions from all 16 ICU wards at Namazi Hospital in 2020. The data were collected using a checklist that included patient demographics, prescription date, and the number of prescribed antibiotics. The relationship between antibiotic groups and patient demographics was assessed using Chi-square test.

Out of 381,003 electronic prescriptions, 67,002 (17.6%) included at least one antibiotic. Additionally, 5,056 patients (98.9%) received antibiotics. Analysis of the prescriptions revealed that most antibiotics were prescribed for male patients and those under 15 years old (P<0.05). Patients admitted during the winter also received the highest rate of antibiotics (P<0.05). The most commonly prescribed antibiotic groups were beta-lactam and chloramphenicols (32.89%), cephalosporins (19.28%), and glycopeptides (18%).

While less than one-fifth of prescriptions included antibiotics, nearly all patients received them. It is advisable for future studies to evaluate antibiotic prescribing based on prescriptions to provide hospital managers with more precise statistics, enabling appropriate actions for antibiotic stewardship.