High Levels of Outpatient Antibiotic Prescription at a District Hospital in Ghana: Results of a Cross Sectional Study

Obed Kwabena Offe Amponsah (), Sharath Burugina Nagaraja, Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng, Divya Nair, Karlos Muradyan, Phanuel Seli Asense, Osei Kwaku Wusu-Ansah, Robert Fraser Terry, Mohammed Khogali and Kwame Ohene Buabeng
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Obed Kwabena Offe Amponsah: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana
Sharath Burugina Nagaraja: Department of Community Medicine, ESIC Medical College and PGIMSR, Bengaluru 560010, India
Nana Kwame Ayisi-Boateng: Department of Medicine, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana
Divya Nair: International Union against TB and Lung Disease (The Union), 75006 Paris, France
Karlos Muradyan: Tuberculosis Research and Prevention Center, Yerevan 0014, Armenia
Phanuel Seli Asense: University Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana
Osei Kwaku Wusu-Ansah: University Hospital, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana
Robert Fraser Terry: Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organisation, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Mohammed Khogali: Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), World Health Organisation, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Kwame Ohene Buabeng: Department of Pharmacy Practice, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi 00233, Ghana

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Monitoring of antibiotic prescription practices in hospitals is essential to assess and facilitate appropriate use. This is relevant to halt the progression of antimicrobial resistance. Methods: Assessment of antibiotic prescribing patterns and completeness of antibiotic prescriptions among out-patients in 2021 was conducted at the University Hospital of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in the Ashanti region of Ghana. We reviewed electronic medical records (EMR) of 49,660 patients who had 110,280 encounters in the year. Results: The patient encounters yielded 350,149 prescriptions. Every month, 33–36% of patient encounters resulted in antibiotic prescription, higher than the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended optimum of 27%. Almost half of the antibiotics prescribed belonged to WHO’s Watch group. Amoxicillin–clavulanic acid (50%), azithromycin (29%), ciprofloxacin (28%), metronidazole (21%), and cefuroxime (20%) were the most prescribed antibiotics. Antibiotic prescribing parameters (indication, name of drug, duration, dose, route, and frequency) were documented in almost all prescriptions. Conclusions: Extending antimicrobial stewardship to the out-patient settings by developing standard treatment guidelines, an out-patient specific drug formulary, and antibiograms can promote rational antibiotic use at the hospital. The EMR system of the hospital is a valuable tool for monitoring prescriptions that can be leveraged for future audits.

Keywords: antibiotic prescription; outpatients; AWaRe classification; Ghana; SORT IT; antimicrobial stewardship; electronic medical records; operational research; antimicrobial resistance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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