A Survey of Antibiotic Usage at Cocoa Clinic, a Quasi- Government Hospital

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September 2009
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Abstract
High levels of antibiotics use, often clinically unnecessary, have led to a steady increase in drug resistance. Diseases of bacterial origin are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries [26]. Antibiotic usage was studied retrospectively from clinical records of all patients who had antibiotic prescription from all the various centres in Cocoa Clinic for the month of July 2008 and were served at the clinic’s pharmacy. Data were retrieved with the assistance of the Clinic’s Biostatistician from the records department as well as from computer entries of all transactions at the pharmacy. Informal interviews were also conducted with the prescribers and the pharmacists available. Records were examined for whether microbiological investigations were done before or after antibiotics prescriptions. The commonest antibiotics prescribed for all the age groups include Amoxycillin + Clavulanic acid, Ciprofloxacin, Cefuroxime, Amoxycillin, Metronidazole and Flucloxacillin. Age group 15-44years received the highest percentage of antibiotic prescriptions. The most common infections requiring antibiotics use were upper respiratory tract infection including common cold accounting for 377 (23.44%) of therapeutic prescriptions. Gastroenteritis was next (13.81%) followed by respiratory tract (12.19%) and skin and soft tissue infections (10.14%) then urinary tract infections (7.71%). Most prescriptions were given empirically based on known pathogens. In some cases prescription were changed when laboratory results determined so. More study is required to determine the trend or pattern in antibiotic usage and the factors influencing this. A multidisciplinary prospective study is recommended.
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A Thesis submitted to the Department of Clinical and Social Pharmacy, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
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