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A high prevalence of antibiotic use at two large teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: a point prevalence survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2024

Kassa Haile Merga*
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Edlawit Mesfin Getachew
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ayako Wendy Fujita
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Mahlet Abayneh
Affiliation:
St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Jesse T. Jacob
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Solomon Ali
Affiliation:
St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Hayat Oumer Melesse
Affiliation:
ALERT Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ahmed Babiker
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Liya Sisay Getachew
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tsegaye Hailu
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Jemal Mohammed
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Bethelhem Solomon
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Paulina A. Rebolledo
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
Alemseged Abdissa
Affiliation:
Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Russell R. Kempker
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, USA
*
Corresponding author: Kassa Haile Merga; Email: kassa.haile@ahri.gov.et

Abstract

Objective:

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) renders many bacterial infections untreatable and results in substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide. Understanding antibiotic use in clinical settings including hospitals is critical to optimize antibiotic use and prevent resistance.

Design:

Hospital antibiotic point prevalence survey (PPS).

Methods:

The study was conducted in two large, teaching hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We performed two survey rounds in December 2021 and January 2022 through real-time chart review using the World Health Organization PPS methodology. Data were collected using a web-based database, and descriptive statistics were performed to analyze antibiotic use by various characteristics.

Results:

Among 1020 hospitalized patients, 318 (32%) were ≤14 years and 370 (36%) had surgery during the current hospitalization. A total of 662 (65%) were receiving an antibiotic on the day of survey and 346 (39%) were receiving ≥2 antibiotics. A community-acquired infection (43%) was the most common indication for an antibiotic followed by surgical prophylaxis (27%) and hospital-acquired infection (23%). Antibiotic use was highest among those ≤24 months in age and among patients in trauma, surgical, and pediatric wards. Cephalosporin (42%) and penicillin (16%) antibiotics were the most frequently prescribed classes. Only 11% of patients on antibiotics had samples collected for microbiological testing; hence, almost all antibiotic therapy was empiric.

Conclusions:

Despite global and national efforts to improve antimicrobial stewardship, antibiotic use remains high in urban teaching hospitals in Ethiopia. Implementation of antimicrobial stewardship activities and microbiology utilization are needed to guide antimicrobial selection and curtail antibiotic overuse.

Information

Type
Original Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Figure 0

Table 1.Characteristics of hospitalized patients included in antibiotic use point prevalence survey by antibiotic use in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 2020–January 2021 (n = 1020)

Figure 1

Table 2.Antibiotic use characteristics and indications (n = 662)

Figure 2

Figure 1.Frequency of most commonly prescribed antibiotics among inpatients at two hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, December 2020–January 2021 (N = 1020). Only antibiotics prescribed >10 times were included in the figure.

Figure 3

Table 3.Frequency of antibiotic prescribing among hospitalized patients by treatment indication

Figure 4

Table 4.Frequency of antibiotic prescribing among hospitalized patients by hospital ward

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