A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY TO ANALYSE THE ANTIBIOTIC TRENDS IN PEDIATRIC PNEUMONIA IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Study objective: To assess Antibiotic treatment pattern in pediatric pneumonia, to evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotics, to study risk factors of pneumonia in children.Inappropriate use of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance and related complications which is a major problem faced worldwide.Methodology: A single centered hospital based retrospective study was performed by collecting data of 148 pediatric patients with pneumonia for the last 3 years from the Department of Pediatrics. Result:The mean age of pediatric population was found to be 2.51.9 yrs.Majority (57%) of them were boys.Infants (49%) and incompletely immunized (53%) were predominantly having the risk of developing infections.Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (75%) was found to be the most commonly prescribed antibiotics.70.9% of patients were prescribed with single antibiotic.In this study, 51.4% of prescription was found to be inappropriate.Among them, higher proportion was due to incorrect choice (78.8%) by using Gyssens criteria. Conclusion:Incorporation of clinical pharmacist must be brought into practice in India for providing proper guidance on the usage of antibiotics and thereby preventing complications.