Drug Utilization Study on Antimicrobial Agents used in Prophylaxis for Major Surgeries at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Odisha

Title: Drug Utilization Study on Antimicrobial agents used in prophylaxis for major surgeries at a tertiary care hospital in Odisha Authors: Dr Tamasuk Das, (Dr. ) Gaurav Jha, Dr Biswaranjan Mahapatra, Dr Subrata Das Name of Department, Institution, City, State: Department of General surgery, Hi Tech Medical College and Hospital, Bhubaneswar, Odisha Email of presenting author: Drtamasukdas@gmail. com Background and Objective: This study aims to take a close analytical look at the prescribing patterns of antimicrobial agents used prophylactically for major surgeries at a tertiary care hospital in Odisha Method: a cross-sectional observational study was done; patients above 18 years and receiving antimicrobial therapy pre surgery were included in the study; the medical records of patients who have undergone surgical procedures was verified for antimicrobial prophylaxis with respect to the choice of antimicrobial agent and the time of its administration Result: A total of 103 patients with surgical operations were included in the study. It was found that a total of 307 antimicrobial agents were used in these patients for surgical prophylaxis. Metronidazole was the most prescribed agent followed by Ceftriaxone. Amoxicillin + Clavulanic acid combination was used in 31 % cases. The mean number of drugs per prescription was found to be ~ 3 (2.98). Conclusion: The rate of prescribing of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents has increased as they are now routinely employed for prophylaxis of major surgeries. This may lead to the development of bacterial resistance and unnecessary wastage of resources; however, development of guidelines and judicious use of drugs can benefit the patient and reduce the cost of health care.