[Use of systemic antibacterial agents at a university emergency clinic in Bucharest, in the year 2008].

Abstract

Objective: use of ATC/DDD (Anatomic Therapeutic Classification/Daily Defined Dose) methodology promoted by World Health Organization for calculating and analysis of systemic antimicrobial agents' annual rates of usage among the adult patients hospitalized in Bucharest municipality.

Methods: descriptive retrospective study conducted in the main university clinic for medical emergencies from Bucharest municipality. Consumption of systemic antimicrobial agents, taken from the clinic pharmacy's records, regarding the 2008 year, has been transformed in defined daily doses and aggregated by ATC subgroups. The number of patient days from 2008 was obtained from clinic administrative service. Antimicrobial agents' usage was expressed as consumption density rate by dividing the defined daily doses counts to the correspondent number of patient days. Analysis of consumption rates has been performed both by whole clinic and also stratified by departments of medical specialties: surgery, internal medicine and intensive care.

Results: In the year 2008, the patients carried in the clinic totalized 255,600 days of hospitalization; during the respective time in clinic there were used 36 of individual antibacterial agents that made up 184,857 defined daily doses. At the level of entire clinic the consumption rate of all systemic antimicrobial agents was 72.6 defined daily doses per 100 de patient days (DDD/PD); by medical specialties the indicator's values were 61.2 DDD/100 PD in the department of internal medicine specialties, 62.8 DDD/100 PD in the departament of surgical specialties and 126 DDD/100 PD in the medical/surgical intensive care unit, respectively. Almost 70% of the defined daily doses' total included five antimicrobial agents: co-amoxiclav, cefuroxim, cefoperazone + sulbactam, ciprofloxacine si metronidazol. By ATC subgroups, the top three consumption rates included penicillin plus beta-lactamase inhibitors, 2nd generation cefalosporines and fluorochinolons, respectively. Comparing the own rate with the distributions of NNIS (National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance) system form USA, demonstrated that the usage was into the expected limits for the majority of antimicrobial agents groups considered, excess usage being detected only in the case of 2nd generation cefalosporins (in non-intensive care sector) and in the case of carbapenems in the intensive care units, respectively.

Conclusions: At the whole clinic level, the study detected a rate of systemic antimicrobial agents' usage similar with the correspondent values recently reported even from the South European states or form USA. Excessive usage (against the NNIS standard) might be mitigated through augmentation of the compliance with guidelines for prudent utilization of antimicrobial agents.