Resumen de Study on the use of restricted antibiotics in an intensive care unit
Beatriz Mejuto Pérez del Molino, Concepción Castro, Paloma Castellano
Introduction: Broad-spectrum and high-cost antibiotics are frequently used in Intensive Care Units (ICU), therefore, the purposes of this study consist of analyzing the profiles of antibiotic use and evaluating the consumption of such products during the first year after the implementation of the new protocol on restricted antibiotics.
Method: One-year (2013) descriptive and retrospective observational study which included all patients admitted to ICU.
Results: During 2013, 614 patients were admitted to ICU, 8% of which received treatment with, at least, one restricted antibiotic. Sixty-four treatments were prescribed in total: 36 with imipenem, 23 with linezolid, five with meropenem, and none with aztreonam. The protocol was not completed in 10 requests. Twenty-two percent of requests presented disagreements between the request form and the final diagnosis, all of them for linezolid. Besides, 87% of treatments were empiric, being correct in 72.3% of cases, and only 17 obtained a microbiological diagnosis.The increase in expenses was €9,817.70.
Conclusions: Monitoring of antibiotic prescription is essential in order to achieve a more reasonable use. It is necessary to promote multi-factorial strategies, such as implementing an antimicrobial stewardship program, intended to improve clinical results, minimize adverse effects and resistance appearance, and guarantee the use of cost-effective treatments
