Surveillance of Antibiotic Use and Adherence to the WHO/INRUD Core Prescribing Indicators at a Primary Healthcare Hospital in Southern Zambia: Opportunities for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs — Oak Academic Publishing
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Surveillance of Antibiotic Use and Adherence to the WHO/INRUD Core Prescribing Indicators at a Primary Healthcare Hospital in Southern Zambia: Opportunities for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs
Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Centre for International Health, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
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Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Directorate of Medical Research and Development, Zambia Army Medical Services Branch, Lusaka, Zambia
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Lusaka, Zambia
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Medicines Management and Pharmacy Services, St. James University Hospital, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
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Education and Research, Clinical Research Education and Management Services (CREAMS), Lilongwe, Malawi
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Department of Nursing, Technical Institute of Suwaria, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq
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Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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Harare Institute of Technology, Ganges Road, Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe
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Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
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Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
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Department of Biomedical Sciences, Defence School of Health Sciences, Lusaka, Zambia
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Department of Clinical Services, Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), Lilongwe, Malawi
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Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Victoria University, Kampala, Uganda
1 Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
2 Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
3 Centre for International Health, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
4 Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
5 Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
6 Department of Pathology and Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
7 Directorate of Medical Research and Development, Zambia Army Medical Services Branch, Lusaka, Zambia
8 Lusaka, Zambia
9 Medicines Management and Pharmacy Services, St. James University Hospital, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK
10 Education and Research, Clinical Research Education and Management Services (CREAMS), Lilongwe, Malawi
11 Department of Nursing, Technical Institute of Suwaria, Middle Technical University, Baghdad, Iraq
12 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
13 Harare Institute of Technology, Ganges Road, Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe
14 Faculty of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
15 Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia
16 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Defence School of Health Sciences, Lusaka, Zambia
17 Department of Clinical Services, Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH), Lilongwe, Malawi
18 Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Victoria University, Kampala, Uganda
Background: The irrational use of medicines remains a key health problem in many developing countries. The overuse of antibiotics is a key driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study surveyed antibiotic use and adherence to the World Health Organization (WHO) prescribing indicators at the Request Muntanga Hospital in the Kalomo District of Southern Province, Zambia. Materials and Methods : This cross-sectional study was conducted from July 2023 to September 2023 at Request Muntanga Hospital in Zambia and reviewed 600 medical record prescriptions which were issued from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023 using the WHO prescribing indicators. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23.0. Results: From the 600 prescriptions sampled, 1246 medicines were prescribed, with antibiotics making up 86.7% of the encounters. Additionally, the average number of drugs prescribed per encounter was 2.1 and the prevalence of polypharmacy was 61.3%. Further, 17.8% of medicines were prescribed as injectables. Furthermore, 76.7% of the drugs were prescribed from the Zambia Essential Medicines List and 38.9% by generic names. Conclusions: This study found a high use of antibiotics and deviations from the WHO/International Network of Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) core prescribing indicators at the Request Muntanga Hospital indicating non-adherence to the prescribing indicators. There is a need to promote adherence to the WHO/INRUD core prescribing indicators to promote the rational use of antibiotics and prevent the emergence and spread of AMR.
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