BackgroundThe worldwide increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria is of great concern. One of the main causes is antibiotic use which is likely to be high but is poorly described in India. The aim was to analyze and compare antibiotic prescribing for inpatients, in two private sector tertiary care hospitals; one Teaching and one Non-teaching, in Ujjain, India.MethodsA cross-sectional study with manual data collection was carried out in 2008. Antibiotic prescribing was recorded for all inpatients throughout their hospital stay. Demographic profile of inpatients and prescribed antibiotics were compared. WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classifications for antibiotics was used and Defined Daily Doses (DDD) were calculated per patient day.ResultsA total of 8385 inpatients were admitted during the study period. In the Teaching hospital (TH) 82% of 3004 and in the Non-teaching hospital (NTH) 79% of 5381 patients were prescribed antibiotics. The most commonly prescribed antibiotic groups were; fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides in the TH and, 3rd generation cephalosporins and combination of antibiotics in the NTH. Of the prescriptions, 51% in the TH and 87% in the NTH (p<0.001) were for parenteral route administration. Prescribing by trade name was higher in the NTH (96%) compared with the TH (63%, p<0.001).ConclusionsThe results from both hospitals show extensive antibiotic prescribing. High use of combinations of antibiotics in the NTH might indicate pressure from pharmaceutical companies. There is a need to formulate and implement; based on local prescribing and resistance data; contextually appropriate antibiotic prescribing guidelines and a local antibiotic stewardship program.

BackgroundThere is increasing evidence that community acquired S. aureus infections are spreading among healthy children. Nasal colonization with S. aureus plays pivotal role in the increasing prevalence of resistant community acquired S. aureus infections worldwide. A regular surveillance system is important in ensuring quality of patient care. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of and the factors associated with nasal carriage of S. aureus and its antibiotic sensitivity pattern among healthy children in Ujjain, India.MethodsA prospective study was done in paediatric outpatient clinics of R.D. Gardi medical college Ujjain, India. Healthy children from 1 month to 59 months of age were included. Information on previously known risk factors for nasal colonization was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Swabs from anterior nares were collected and transported in Amies transport media with charcoal and cultured on 5% sheep blood agar. Antibiotic sensitivity tests were performed using Kirby Bauer's disc diffusion method according to performance standards of Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute guidelines.ResultsOf the 1,562 children from 1-month up-to five years of age included in the study 98 children tested positive for nasal carriage of S. aureus. The prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus was 6.3% (95% CI 5.1-7.5) out of which 16.3% (95% CI 8.9-23.8) were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The factors associated with nasal carriage were "child attending preschool" (OR 4.26, 95% CI 2.25-8.03; P = 0.007) or "school" (OR 3.02, 95% CI 1.27-7.18; P < 0.001) and "family size more than 10 members" (OR 2.76 95% CI 1.06-7.15; P = 0.03). The sensitivity pattern of isolated S. aureus showed resistance to commonly used oral antibiotics while resistance to glycopeptides was not noted.ConclusionsWe found a relatively low rate of nasal carriage of S. aureus in children below five years when compared to children of older age groups in India. Yet, prevalence of MRSA was relatively high.

No abstract

Antibiotic prescribing was common at both hospitals. The antibiotic prescriptions at the TH had higher compliance to WHOLEM and NLEMI. However, there is a need to develop appropriate interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing at both hospitals.

IntroductionInfectious diseases are one of the major causes of child mortality in India. Pediatric patients are commonly prescribed antibiotics for non-bacterial infections. Monitoring of local antibiotic prescribing with respect to the diagnosis is necessary to improve the prescribing practices. The aim of the study was to describe antibiotic prescribing for potential infections among patients admitted in pediatric departments in two private sector hospitals; one teaching (TH) and one non-teaching (NTH) in Central India.MethodsData from all patients admitted at the pediatric departments of both study hospitals was collected manually, for 3 years (2008–2011) using a customized form. Data from inpatients aged 0–18 years, diagnosed with; acute gastroenteritis (AGE), respiratory tract infections, enteric fever, viral fever or unspecified fever were focused for analysis. Antibiotic prescriptions were analysed using the WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system and defined daily doses (DDDs). Adherence to the Indian Academy of Pediatrics list of essential medicines (IAP-LEM) was investigated. P-values <0.05 were considered significant.ResultsOftotal6, 825 inpatients admitted at two pediatric departments, 510 patients from the TH and 2,479from the NTH were selected based on the assigned potential infectious diagnoses. Of these, 224 patients (44%) at the TH and 2,088 (84%) at the NTH were prescribed at least one antibiotic during hospital stay (odds ratio-0.69, 95%confidence interval-0.52 to 0.93; p<0.001). Patients with AGE, viral- and enteric fever were frequently prescribed antibiotics at both hospitals, yet higher proportion were prescribed antibiotics at the NTH compared to the TH. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic class in both hospitals, namely third generation cephalosporins, J01DD (69%) at the TH, and new fixed dose combinations of antibiotics J01R (FDCs, 42%) at the NTH. At the TH, 37% of the antibiotic prescriptions were comprised of antibiotics listed in the IAP-LEM, compared to 24% at the NTH (p<0.05).ConclusionsBroad-spectrum antibiotics were prescribed frequently in both hospitals also for the un-indicated conditions such as viral fever and enteric fever. At the NTH, new FDCs were more frequently prescribed and adherence to the IAP-LEM was substantially lower at the NTH compared to the TH. The results demonstrate need to develop diagnosis-specific prescribing guidelines to facilitate rational use of antibiotics and implement antibiotic stewardship program.

Informal healthcare providers (IHCPs) are predominant healthcare providers in rural India, who prescribe without formal training. Antibiotic prescription by IHCPs could provide crucial information for controlling antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study is to determine the practices and seasonal changes in antibiotic prescribing for common illnesses by IHCPs. A repeated cross-sectional study was conducted over 18 months, covering different seasons in the rural demographic surveillance site, at Ujjain, India. Prescriptions given to outpatients by 12 IHCPs were collected. In total, 15,322 prescriptions for 323 different complaint combinations were analyzed, of which 11,336 (74%) included antibiotics. The results showed that 14,620 (95%) of antibiotics prescribed were broad spectrum and the most commonly prescribed were fluoroquinolones (4771,31%), followed by penicillin with an extended spectrum (4119,27%) and third-generation cephalosporin (3069,20%). Antibiotics were prescribed more frequently in oral and dental problems (1126,88%), fever (3569,87%), and upper respiratory tract infections (3273, 81%); more during the monsoon season (2350,76%); and more frequently to children (3340,81%) than to adults (7996,71%). The study concludes that antibiotics were the more commonly prescribed drugs compared to other medications for common illnesses, most of which are broad-spectrum antibiotics, a situation that warrants further investigations followed by immediate and coordinated efforts to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions by IHCPs.

BackgroundSurgical site infections (SSI) are one of the most common healthcare associated infections in the low-middle income countries. Data on incidence and risk factors for SSI following surgeries in general and Obstetric and Gynecological surgeries in particular are scare. This study set out to identify risk factors for SSI in patients undergoing Obstetric and Gynecological surgeries in an Indian rural hospital.MethodsPatients who underwent a surgical procedure between September 2010 to February 2013 in the 60-bedded ward of Obstetric and Gynecology department were included. Surveillance for SSI was based on the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) definition and methodology. Incidence and risk factors for SSI, including those for specific procedure, were calculated from data collected on daily ward rounds.ResultsA total of 1173 patients underwent a surgical procedure during the study period. The incidence of SSI in the cohort was 7.84% (95% CI 6.30–9.38). Majority of SSI were superficial. Obstetric surgeries had a lower SSI incidence compared to gynecological surgeries (1.2% versus 10.3% respectively). The risk factors for SSI identified in the multivariate logistic regression model were age (OR 1.03), vaginal examination (OR 1.31); presence of vaginal discharge (OR 4.04); medical disease (OR 5.76); American Society of Anesthesia score greater than 3 (OR 12.8); concurrent surgical procedure (OR 3.26); each increase in hour of surgery, after the first hour, doubled the risk of SSI; inappropriate antibiotic prophylaxis increased the risk of SSI by nearly 5 times. Each day increase in stay in the hospital after the surgery increased the risk of contacting an SSI by 5%.ConclusionsIncidence and risk factors from prospective SSI surveillance can be reported simultaneously for the Obstetric and Gynecological surgeries and can be part of routine practice in resource-constrained settings. The incidence of SSI was lower for Obstetric surgeries compared to Gynecological surgeries. Multiple risk factors identified in the present study can be helpful for SSI risk stratification in low-middle income countries.

BackgroundAntibiotic resistance has been referred to as ‘the greatest malice of the 21st century’ and a global action plan was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2015. There is a wealth of independent studies regarding antibiotics and resistant bacteria in humans, animals and their environment, however, integrated studies are lacking, particularly ones that simultaneously also take into consideration the health related behaviour of participants and healthcare providers. Such, ‘One health’ studies are difficult to implement, because of the complex teamwork that they entail. This paper describes the protocol of a study that investigates ‘One health’ issues regarding antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in children and their environment in Indian villages.Methods/DesignBoth quantitative and qualitative studies are planned for a cohort of children, from 6 villages, and their surrounding environment. Repeated or continues data collection is planned over 2 years for quantitative studies. Qualitative studies will be conducted once. Studies include parents’ health seeking behavior for their children (1–3 years of age at the onset), prescribing pattern of formal and informal healthcare providers, analysis of phenotypic antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli from samples of stool from children and village animals, household drinking water, village source water and waste water, and investigation on molecular mechanisms governing resistance. Analysis of interrelationship of these with each other will also be done as basis for future interventions. Ethics approval has been obtained from the Institutional Ethics Committee R.D. Gardi Medical College, Ujjain, India (No: 2013/07/17-311).DiscussionThe findings of the study presented in this protocol will add to our knowledge about the multi-factorial nature of causes governing antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance from a ‘One health’ perspective. Our study will be the first of its kind addressing antibiotic use and resistance issues related to children in a One-health approach, particularly for rural India.