ArticleCureus2026
Antibiotic Stewardship Program at a Tertiary Care Academic Hospital: A Comprehensive Analysis of an Audit Across Various Specialties.
Article in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health concern, largely driven by inappropriate antibiotic use in hospital settings. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (AMSPs) are essential to promote rational antibiotic prescribing; however, variability in implementation and adherence across specialties remains a challenge. Periodic audits are critical for assessing prescribing practices and identifying areas for improvement. This study was conducted to evaluate the implementation of an AMSP at a tertiary care academic hospital through a cross-specialty audit of antibiotic use. Methods A cross-sectional audit of 800 patient records from January to December 2023 was conducted across multiple specialties. Antibiotic prescribing patterns, adherence to institutional guidelines, and classification according to the WHO Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe) framework were analyzed. Comparisons were made between medical and surgical specialties. Results The overall antibiotic prescription rate was 88.1% (705/800 cases), with significant variation across departments. Ophthalmology demonstrated 100% adherence to institutional guidelines (100/100 cases), whereas Medicine and Pediatrics showed comparatively lower adherence (45/100 (45%) and 40/100 (40%), respectively). De-escalation practices were suboptimal, particularly in critical care settings. Watch group antibiotics predominated across both specialties, and a statistically significant difference in AWaRe distribution between medical and surgical departments was observed (p = 0.003). Surgical departments exhibited significantly higher adherence to institutional antibiotic guidelines compared with medical departments (330/400 (82.5%) vs 278/400 (69.6%), p < 0.001). They also prescribed fewer antibiotics per patient (mean 1.18 ± 0.5 vs 1.43 ± 0.6, p < 0.001) and had shorter durations of antibiotic therapy (3.91 ± 1.1 vs 4.25 ± 1.2 days, p < 0.001). Conclusion AMSP implementation has led to improvements in antibiotic prescribing practices; however, important specialty-specific gaps persist, particularly in medical and critical care settings. The high use of Watch group antibiotics and limited de-escalation highlight the need for strengthened stewardship efforts. Targeted interventions, regular audit and feedback, and the development of specialty-specific guidelines are essential to optimize antibiotic use and sustain the impact of stewardship programs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.