ArticleBMJ open2020
Antimicrobial use across six referral hospitals in Tanzania: a point prevalence survey.
Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 4 of them syntheses 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
63 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surveillance of antimicrobial utilization in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prescription rates, indications, and quality of use from point prevalence surveys.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 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
- Pattern of antimicrobial prescription in Africa: a systematic review of point prevalence surveys.The Pan African medical journal · 2023Pooled it
- Adherence to smartphone-delivered antimicrobial prescribing guidelines in hospitals in Lao PDR: A stepped-wedge cluster randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Pediatric empiric antibiotic use and resistance patterns at a single tertiary care hospital in Tanzania.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Antimicrobial resistance in paediatric bloodstream infections in Tanzania: a longitudinal comparison of two cohort studies.BMC microbiology · 2026Article
- A point prevalence survey on antibiotic dispensing practices identifies targets for quality improvement of antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2026Article
- Drivers influencing antibiotics use in pediatric wards across five public hospitals in Zanzibar: a WHO multiple point prevalence survey.Frontiers in antibiotics · 2026Article
- Observational
- Article
- Antimicrobial Consumption and Utilisation in Zambia: Results from the Analysis of National Data for the Human and Animal Health Sectors.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Current status and future direction of antimicrobial stewardship programs and antibiotic prescribing in primary care hospitals in Zambia.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Article
- Retrospective antimicrobial consumption surveillance at health facility level in Dodoma Region, Tanzania.BMJ open · 2025Article
- High rate of multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections in Ifakara-Tanzania: implications for empirical antibiotic treatment guidelines and stewardship programs.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Article
- Increasing the use of the WHO AWaRe system in antibiotic surveillance and stewardship programmes in low- and middle-income countries.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Review
- Antimicrobial Stewardship Impact on Antibiotic Use in Three Tertiary Hospitals in Zambia: A Comparative Point Prevalence Survey.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Surgical prophylaxis in Haydom Lutheran Hospital, Tanzania - learning from a point prevalence survey.Infection prevention in practice · 2025Article
- Antibiotic use at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Zone d'Abomey Calavi/Sô-Ava (CHUZ/AS) in Benin: a point prevalence survey.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2025Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo delineate the prevalence and factors associated with antimicrobial use across six referral hospitals in Tanzania using WHO point prevalence survey (PPS) methodology to inform hospital-specific antimicrobial stewardship programmes.
designCross-sectional analytical study.
settingSix referral hospitals in Tanzania.
participantsPatients irrespective of age and gender (n=948) admitted in the six referral hospital wards before 8:00 hours on each day of the survey were included in December 2019. Using the WHO PPS methodology, data on hospitals, wards, patients, antibiotics, and indications for antibiotics were collected. OUTCOME MEASURES: We analysed the prevalence of antibiotic use by referral hospital, ward, indication and patient characteristics as the main outcomes. We also described adherence to the Tanzania Standard Treatment Guidelines (STG) and WHO's AWaRe categorisation of antibiotics.
resultsApproximately 62.3% of inpatients were prescribed antibiotics, predominantly from the Access group of antibiotics (ceftriaxone, metronidazole or ampicillin-cloxacillin). The overall adherence of antibiotic prescriptions to the Tanzania STG was high (84.0%), with the exception of Sekou Toure Regional Referral Hospital (68.0%) and Maweni Regional Referral Hospital (57.8%). The most common indication for antibiotic prescriptions was community-acquired infections (39.8%). Children less than 2 years of age (OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.02 to 2.92, p=0.039); admission to surgical wards (OR 4.90, 95% CI 2.87 to 8.36, p <0.001); and admission to paediatric wards (OR 3.93, 95% CI 2.16 to 7.15, p <0.001) were associated with increased odds of antibiotic use. Only 2 of 591 patients were prescribed antibiotics based on culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing results.
conclusionsEmpirical use of antibiotics is common, and the Access group of antibiotics is predominantly prescribed in children less than 2 years and patients admitted to surgical and paediatric wards. Lack of utilisation of antimicrobial susceptibility testing services in these hospitals requires urgent interventions. Routine monitoring of antibiotic use is recommended to be part of antibiotic stewardship programmes in Tanzania.
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