ArticleBMC public health2019
Antibiotic use in surgical units of selected hospitals in Ghana: a multi-centre point prevalence survey.
Article in BMC public health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The impact of antimicrobial stewardship interventions on appropriate use of surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Point prevalence of evidence-based antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2024Pooled it
- Antibiotic Use Among Hospitalized Patients in Africa: A Systematic Review of Point Prevalence Studies.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2024Pooled it
- Prevalence of antibiotics prescription amongst patients with and without COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Pathogens and global health · 2023Pooled it
- Pattern of antimicrobial prescription in Africa: a systematic review of point prevalence surveys.The Pan African medical journal · 2023Pooled it
- Article
- Surgical Antibiotic Prophylaxis Utilization and Predictors of Surgical Site Infections at Debre Tabor Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia: Prospective Cohort Study.BioMed research international · 2026Article
- Antimicrobial Use at a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Türkiye According to the WHO Access, Watch and Reserve (AWaRe) Classification: A Point Prevalence Survey.Infectious diseases & clinical microbiology · 2025Article
- Antibiotic Use in Pediatric Care in Ghana: A Call to Action for Stewardship in This Population.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Antibiotic use and adherence to the WHO AWaRe guidelines across 16 hospitals in Zambia: a point prevalence survey.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Antibiotic use in surgical infections at a tertiary teaching hospital in Ghana.Ghana medical journal · 2024Article
- Article
- Assessment of antimicrobial prescribing patterns, guidelines compliance, and appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing in surgical-practice units: point prevalence survey in Malaysian teaching hospitals.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Survey of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Healthcare Professionals towards Antimicrobial Stewardship in Ghana: Findings and Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antibiotic Utilization Patterns for Different Wound Types among Surgical Patients: Findings and Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications.Infection and drug resistance · 2023Review
- Ongoing Efforts to Improve Antimicrobial Utilization in Hospitals among African Countries and Implications for the Future.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Over-Prescription and Overuse of Antimicrobials in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: The Urgent Need for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs with Access, Watch, and Reserve Adoption.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Factors influencing receipt of an antibiotic prescription among insured patients in Tanzania: a cross-sectional study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Bacterial Contamination of Surgical Instruments Used at the Surgery Department of a Major Teaching Hospital in a Resource-Limited Country: An Observational Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundImproper use of antibiotics leads to the emergence of resistant microorganisms as well as drug toxicity, increased healthcare costs, morbidity and mortality. Globally, an estimated 25-68% of hospitalized patients receive suboptimal antibiotic regimes. Information on the extent of this problem in Ghana is currently limited, particularly in surgical units. To strategize for interventions, we estimated the antibiotic use prevalence in surgical departments in a country-wide point prevalence survey (PPS) in Ghana.
methodsBetween October 2016 and December 2016, we conducted a cross-sectional multi-center country-wide PPS. This involved an audit of in-patients' records from all units/departments of ten systematically selected hospitals in Ghana. Data were collected with a standardized questionnaire, adopted from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. In this report, we present data on antibiotic use from the surgical units.
resultsOf 2107 eligible patients included in the PPS, 540 patients were identified in surgical units, of which 70.7% (382/540) received antibiotic therapy. A total of 636 antibiotic prescriptions were issued to these surgical patients; 224 (58.6%) for treatment, including 50 for treatment of hospital-acquired infections, and 144 (37.7%) for prophylaxis (medical and surgical). Median duration of antibiotic therapy prior to the survey was 5 days (interquartile range (IQR): 3-8 days). Surgical prophylaxis was administered for longer than the recommended one day in 107 of 144 (88.4%) patients. The choice of antibiotics was largely similar for community- and hospital-acquired infections as well as for prophylaxis. Only 3.7% of patients had microbiological analysis done on clinical samples.
conclusionWe found a high prevalence of antibiotic use, with the choice of antibiotics, in some cases, inconsistent with the country's treatment guidelines. Antibiotics were administered for long duration including antibiotics for prophylactic purposes and the majority was started without supporting microbiological analysis. Prescription practices that encourage rational use of antibiotics guided by microbiology and enforcement of antibiotic policy guidelines should be the target for future interventions.
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