Intravenous antibiotic use in a private mining hospital in North West Province, South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7196/SAMJ.2025.v115i6.2608Keywords:
Intravenous antibiotic use, in-hospital antibiotics, drug-resistance.Abstract
Background. The misuse and overuse of intravenous (IV) antibiotics contribute to the spread of multidrug resistance, consequently increasing mortality. These effects can be minimised through treatment reviews that aim to optimise antibiotic therapy without compromising patient clinical outcomes. There is therefore a need to evaluate and monitor intravenous antibiotic usage in hospitals.
Objectives. To describe IV antibiotic use in admitted patients at a private hospital in North West Province, South Africa.
Methods. A cross-sectional study design was followed using retrospective data from patient files and the hospital electronic healthcare software (TriMed) between 1 January and 31 December 2022. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to capture demographic information for each patient profile that met the inclusion criteria, and data on IV antibiotic use were captured for each admission episode. The data were analysed using IBM statistical software.
Results. Demographic data were recorded for 677 patient profiles, with males representing 53.8% (n=364). A total of 731 admissions occurred during the study period. The most prevalent indication for IV antibiotic use, according to the provisional diagnosis, was upper and lower respiratory tract disorders, which represented 25.2% of the total admissions. Staphylococcus aureus was the most commonly treated micro-organism, representing 22.8% (n=23) of the total isolated micro-organisms. IV antibiotics were initiated 885 times, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was the most used antibiotic (51.2%). Most antibiotics (48.2%) were used at a dose of 1 200 mg, with a dosing frequency of three times a day (72.3%). A total of 806 review actions, out of 885 intravenous antibiotic initiations, were conducted (91.1%). The prevalence of IV-to-oral switch was 49.0%, while 41.3% of IV antibiotics were stopped after review. IV antibiotic de-escalation represented 7.2% of the total reviews, while an oral antibiotic was added to 1.7% of the IV antibiotics after review. At review, the prevalence of adding IV antibiotics to another IV antibiotic was 0.7%. The average length of hospital stay was 5.8 days, while patients continuously received IV antibiotics for 3.4 days on average.
Conclusion. There is a need to monitor IV antibiotic use and encourage IV antibiotic de-escalation to limit the rampant use of broad- spectrum antibiotics and manage the most prevalent infections effectively in the shortest possible time, consequently reducing the average duration of hospitalisation. IV antibiotic treatment review is therefore pivotal to optimise antibiotic therapy, the transition of IV to oral antibiotics, and discontinuation of IV antibiotics when they are no longer necessary.
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