ArticleBMC infectious diseases2023
Antibiotic use and consumption among medical patients of two hospitals in Sierra Leone: a descriptive report.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Improving antibiotic utilization in West Africa: enhancing interventions through systematic review and evidence synthesis.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Pooled it
- Antibiotic Consumption and Healthcare-Associated Infection Surveillance in a Multi-Unit Emergency Hospital in Romania: A Retrospective Observational Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- Consumption of systemic antibiotics in a tertiary care hospital in Northern Sri Lanka: a five-year trend analysis.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- Evaluation of inpatient antibiotic prescribing patterns using WHO indicators in Northern Ethiopia: a prospective cross-sectional study identifying stewardship gaps.BMC research notes · 2026Article
- Antibiotic prescribing patterns and consumption at a comprehensive specialized hospital in northern Ethiopia: a prospective cross-sectional study underscoring the need for antimicrobial stewardship.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Analysis of antibiotics consumption pattern among hospitalized patients in Nepal: a nationally representative multi-hospital survey.BMC infectious diseases · 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
- Antibiotic prescription sources and use among under-5 children with fever/cough in sub-Saharan Africa.International health · 2025Article
- Article
- Assessment of antimicrobial stewardship programmes and antibiotic use among children admitted to two hospitals in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional study.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2024Article
- Article
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Abstract
backgroundAlthough one of the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance is inappropriate antibiotic prescribing, there are limited resources to support the surveillance of antibiotic consumption in low-income countries. In this study, we aimed to assess antibiotic use and consumption among medical patients of two hospitals in different geographic regions of Sierra Leone.
methodsThis is a cross-sectional study of adult (18 years or older) patients receiving medical care at two hospitals (34 Military Hospital-MH and Makeni Government Hospital-MGH) between March 2021 and October 2021. After admission to the medical or intensive care unit, patients were sequentially recruited by a nurse from each hospital. Demographic and clinical characteristics and information on the dose of antibiotics, their routes, and frequency of administration and duration were collected using a questionnaire adapted from previous studies and encrypted in EpiCollect software (Epic, Verona WI). A physician reviews and verifies each completed questionnaire. Data analysis was done using STATA version 16.
resultsThe mean age of the 468 patients evaluated in this study was 48.6 years. The majority were women (241, 51.7%) and treated at MGH (245, 52.0%). Clinical diagnosis of bacterial infection was made in only 180 (38.5%) patients. Regardless of the diagnosis, most (442, 94.9%) patients received at least one antibiotic. Of a total 813 doses of antibiotics prescribed by the two hospitals, 424 (52.2%) were administered in MH. Overall, antibiotic consumption was 66.9 defined daily doses (DDDs) per 100 bed-days, with ceftriaxone being the most commonly used antibiotic (277, 34.1%). The ACCESS and WATCH antibiotics accounted for 18.9 DDDs per 100 bed-days (28.2%) and 48.0 DDDs per 100 bed-days (71.7%), respectively. None of the patients were prescribed a RESERVE antibiotics. The antibiotic consumption was lower in MH (61.3 DDDs per 100 bed-days) than MGH (76.5 DDDs per 100 bed-days).
conclusionAntibiotic consumption was highest with ceftriaxone, followed by levofloxacin and metronidazole. Given the high rate of consumption of antibiotics in the WATCH category of the AWaRe classification, there is a need to initiate surveillance of antibiotic consumption and establish hospital-based antibiotic stewardship in these settings.
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