Observational studyPloS one2020
Antimicrobial usage at a large teaching hospital in Lusaka, Zambia.
Observational study in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Primary care metronidazole prescription in public and private facilities of South Benin: a register-based cross-sectional study.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Antibiotic utilization in outpatient and inpatient hospitals in Zambia: a systematic review, key findings and public health implications.Infection prevention in practice · 2026Review
- Detection of carbapenem resistance among third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales from small-scale poultry farms in peri-urban Lusaka, Zambia.Access microbiology · 2026Article
- Diagnostic Stewardship Trends and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Bacteria Isolated in Zambia: A Five-Year Retrospective Study (2020-2024).Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Antibiotic resistance profiles in Gram-negative bacteria causing bloodstream and urinary tract infections in paediatric and adult patients in Ndola District, Zambia, 2020-2021.Infection prevention in practice · 2025Article
- Increased Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Vibrio cholerae in the Capital and Provincial Areas of Zambia, January 2023-February 2024.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Antimicrobial Stewardship Impact on Antibiotic Use in Three Tertiary Hospitals in Zambia: A Comparative Point Prevalence Survey.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Evaluating infection prevention and control programs in Zambian hospitals using the WHO infection prevention and control assessment framework tool.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Point Prevalence Survey of Antibiotic Use in Level 1 hospitals in Zambia: Future Prospects for Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs.Infection and drug resistance · 2025Article
- Impact of a hub-and-spoke approach to hospital antimicrobial stewardship programmes on antibiotic use in Zambia.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Genotypic Characterisation and Antimicrobial Resistance of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-ProducingAntibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Antibiotic use and adherence to the WHO AWaRe guidelines across 16 hospitals in Zambia: a point prevalence survey.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Knowledge, awareness and practices of healthcare workers regarding antimicrobial use, resistance and stewardship in Zambia: a multi-facility cross-sectional study.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Community antibiotic consumption and associated factors in Lusaka district of Zambia: findings and implications for antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Hospital prescribing patterns of antibiotics in Zambia using the WHO prescribing indicators post-COVID-19 pandemic: findings and implications.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2024Article
- Article
- Antibiotic consumption history of patients in a referred laboratory in Yaounde.Journal of public health in Africa · 2023Article
- Phenotypic and genotypic antibiotic susceptibility profiles of Gram-negative bacteria isolated from bloodstream infections at a referral hospital, Lusaka, Zambia.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Microbe Mail: A microbiology and infectious diseases podcast for clinicians and students.Southern African journal of infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Ongoing Efforts to Improve Antimicrobial Utilization in Hospitals among African Countries and Implications for the Future.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health concern. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) curbs resistance rates by encouraging rational antimicrobial use. However, data on antimicrobial stewardship in developing countries is scarce. The objective of this study was to characterize antimicrobial use at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia as a guiding step in the development of an AMS program. This was a cross-sectional, observational study evaluating antimicrobial appropriateness and consumption in non-critically ill adult medicine patients admitted to UTH. Appropriateness was defined as a composite measure based upon daily chart review. Sixty percent (88/146) of all adult patients admitted to the general wards had at least one antimicrobial ordered and were included in this study. The most commonly treated infectious diseases were tuberculosis, pneumonia, and septicemia. Treatment of drug sensitive tuberculosis is standardized in a four-drug combination pill of rifampicin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide and ethambutol, therefore appropriateness of therapy was not further evaluated. The most common antimicrobials ordered were cefotaxime (n = 45), ceftriaxone (n = 28), and metronidazole (n = 14). Overall, 67% of antimicrobial orders were inappropriately prescribed to some extent, largely driven by incorrect dose or frequency in patients with renal dysfunction. Antimicrobial prescribing among hospitalized patients at UTH is common and there is room for optimization of a majority of antimicrobial orders. Availability of certain antimicrobials must be taken into consideration during AMS program development.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.