ArticleAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)2019
Availability and Use of Therapeutic Interchange Policies in Managing Antimicrobial Shortages among South African Public Sector Hospitals; Findings and Implications.
Article in Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Assessing the implementation determinants of antimicrobial stewardship programmes in sub-Saharan Africa through the complexity lens. A CFIR-guided systematic review.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Pooled it
- Barriers to Compliance with National Guidelines Among Children Hospitalized with Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Vietnam and the Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Addressing Drug Shortages at Mediclinic Parkview Hospital: A Five-Year Study of Challenges, Impact, and Strategies.Cureus · 2024Article
- Exploring drivers of self-treatment with antibiotics in three agricultural communities of northern Tanzania.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- An Assessment of the Current Level of Implementation of the Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Public Hospitals in Ghana.Hospital pharmacy · 2024Article
- The critical pharmaceutical situation in Sudan 2023: A humanitarian catastrophe of civil war.International journal for equity in health · 2024Article
- Managing Antibiotic Shortages in Inpatient Care-A Review of Recent Years in Comparison with the Hungarian Status.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Antimicrobial Stewardship for Outpatients with Chronic Bone and Joint Infections in the Orthopaedic Clinic of an Academic Tertiary Hospital, South Africa.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Perceptions of and Practical Experience with the National Surveillance Centre in Managing Medicines Availability Amongst Users within Public Healthcare Facilities in South Africa: Findings and Implications.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Supply-chain factors and antimicrobial stewardship.Bulletin of the World Health Organization · 2023Article
- Perceptions of and Preparedness for the Application of Pharmacoeconomics in Practice, among Final Year Bachelor of Pharmacy Students in South Africa: A National Cross-Sectional Study.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare professionals on the use of an electronic stock visibility and management tool in a middle-income country: Implications for access to medicines.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- Antimicrobial Management of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections among Surgical Wards in South Africa: Findings and Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Editorial: Pharmaceutical policy, impact and health outcomes.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Article
- Early observations of Tier-3 drug shortages on purchasing trends across Canada: A cross-sectional analysis of 3 case-example drugs.PloS one · 2023Article
- Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Different Hospitals in Pakistan: Findings and Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Ongoing Efforts to Improve Antimicrobial Utilization in Hospitals among African Countries and Implications for the Future.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Exploring Knowledge of Antibiotic Use, Resistance, and Stewardship Programs among Pharmacy Technicians Serving in Ambulatory Care Settings in Pakistan and the Implications.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Antibiotic consumption in the public sector of the Limpopo province, South Africa, 2014-2018.Southern African journal of infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Strategies to Improve Antimicrobial Utilization with a Special Focus on Developing Countries.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
methodsA quantitative and descriptive study was conducted with a target population of 403 public sector hospitals. Data were collected from hospital pharmacists using an electronic questionnaire via SurveyMonkey
resultsThe response rate was 33.5% and most (83.3%) hospitals had experienced shortages in the previous six months. Antimicrobials commonly reported as out of stock included cloxacillin (54.3%), benzathine benzylpenicillin (54.2%), and erythromycin (39.6%). Reasons for shortages included pharmaceutical companies with supply constraints (85.3%) and an inefficient supply system. Only 42.4% had therapeutic interchange policies, and 88.9% contacted the prescriber, when present, for substitution.
conclusionsAntimicrobial shortages are prevalent in South African public sector hospitals with the most affected being penicillins and cephalosporins. Therapeutic interchange policies are not available at most hospitals. Effective strategies are required to improve communication between pharmacists and prescribers to ensure that safe, appropriate, and therapeutically equivalent alternatives are available.
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