Pharmacy Practice Department, School of Pharmacy, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Volta Region, Ho, Ghana.
College of Pharmacy, Al-Kitab University, Kirkuk, Iraq.
PLoS One. 2024 Oct 29;19(10):e0313019. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313019. eCollection 2024.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious public health issue which is exacerbated by increased inappropriate use of antibiotics for common eye infections. This cross sectional survey was to assess the appropriate use of antibiotics for eye infections in an ambulatory clinic in Ghana and possible determinants.
The medical records of all patients who sought eye care between January 2022 to December 2022 and were prescribed antibiotics were extracted from the hospital's electronic database. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were then conducted.
A total of 1925 patient medical records were extracted, whose median age was 40 years (IQR 26-69), and were mostly females (58.91%, n = 1134/1925). The eye condition commonly treated with antibiotics was bacteria conjunctivitis (33.51%, n = 645/1925). The most prescribed antibiotic was gentamycin (22.96%, n = 442/1925) followed by ciprofloxacin (16.78%, n = 321/1925). These were mostly topical dosage forms (82.13%, n = 1581/1925). Systemic antibiotics prescribed were mostly from the WHO 'Access' class (83.33%, n = 280/338). The appropriate choice of antibiotic prescribed was 42.44% (n = 817/1925) and this was positivity associated with age (p<0.001), number of antibiotics prescribed (p <0.001), the prescription of topical dosage forms (p <0.001), and WHO 'Access' antibiotic class (p <0.034).
The level of appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions for eye infections was sub-optimal. Antimicrobial stewardship programs, including prescriber education on guidelines and prescription audit to address associated factors, must now be instigated in this hospital to improve future antibiotic use and prevent the rise of AMR.
抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）是一个严重的公共卫生问题，由于普遍存在对抗生素的不合理使用，使情况进一步恶化，而这种不合理使用是针对常见眼部感染的。本横断面调查旨在评估加纳一家门诊诊所中眼部感染抗生素使用的合理性，并确定可能的决定因素。
从医院的电子数据库中提取了 2022 年 1 月至 2022 年 12 月间所有因眼部疾病就诊并开具抗生素处方的患者的病历。然后进行了描述性、双变量和多变量分析。
共提取了 1925 名患者的病历，其平均年龄为 40 岁（IQR 26-69），其中大多数为女性（58.91%，n=1134/1925）。最常使用抗生素治疗的眼部疾病是细菌性结膜炎（33.51%，n=645/1925）。最常开的抗生素是庆大霉素（22.96%，n=442/1925），其次是环丙沙星（16.78%，n=321/1925）。这些药物大多为局部用药（82.13%，n=1581/1925）。开的全身抗生素大多来自世界卫生组织（WHO）的“基本药物”类（83.33%，n=280/338）。处方抗生素的合理选择率为 42.44%（n=817/1925），且这种合理选择与年龄（p<0.001）、抗生素种类（p<0.001）、局部剂型（p<0.001）和 WHO 基本药物类（p<0.034）有关。
眼部感染抗生素处方的适宜性水平不理想。现在必须在该医院启动抗菌药物管理计划，包括对医生进行指南教育和处方审核，以解决相关因素，以改善未来的抗生素使用并防止 AMR 的出现。
