Evaluation of the prevalence and Pattern of Antibiotic Prescription for Preventing Infection after General Surgery compared with the standard guidelines

Abstract

Background & Aims: The use of antibiotics to prevent the infection in the surgical site is fully effective in terms of the principles and standards. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and pattern of prescribing antibiotics for preventing infection after general surgery in comparison with the standard guidelines. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study, information was obtained from 299 of patient records, hospitalized in the general surgical ward of Tabriz Sina Hospital through a checklist. Then, the data were compared with the managed care guideline of the Ministry of Health and Treatment No. 8 (Standard). Results: In this descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study, the most frequently prescribed prophylactic antibiotics during the hospital stay were the combination of (ceftriaxone + metronidazole) 49.1% and cephazolin 48.4%, and after discharge (cefixime + metronidazole) were 44%, and cephalexin was 41%. Adherence to antibiotic prophylaxis prescription guidelines before surgery was 62.2%, after surgery and before discharge from the hospital was 36.1%, after discharge from the hospital was 66.6% and after surgery, in general, was 27.8%. Conclusion: Considering that the prevalence and pattern of antibiotic prophylaxis use before and after surgery in this study were significantly higher than the global standard, appropriate strategies and measures should be taken to prevent the development of resistant harmful microorganisms and to maintain the efficacy of antibiotics.