Prospective Observational Study of Antimicrobials Utilization Prescriptions Audit in Pediatric Patients at District General Hospital in Maharashtra

Background Antimicrobials are essential for treating many illnesses in pediatric patients but the most improperly prescribed ones can increase antibacterial resistance and negatively impact patients quality of life.Objectives This study aimed to evaluate the prescribing pattern of antimicrobials for children using WHO core prescribing indicators and audit its rationale.Methods A prospective observational study was conducted over six months in the pediatric department of a district hospital in Amravati. Data collected included demographic details clinical diagnosis antimicrobial usage total number of prescribed drugs duration of hospital stay and treatment details. The data were recorded in a spreadsheet and analyzed using GraphPad Prism version 10.2.3.Results A total of 209 patients were enrolled with 53.58 being male and a mean age of 5.47plusmn3.13 years. Antimicrobials were prescribed throughout the study with 72.30 receiving combination therapy- 43.06 on two-drug and 25.83 on three-drug regimens. The average of 2.08 drugs per patient indicates polypharmacy. Among 435 antimicrobials 71.24 were injectables 28.27 oral and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 24.59 was the most prescribed. Irrational prescriptions based on use dose and frequency accounted for 27.27 5.74 and 2.87 respectively. A significant correlation P lt 0.05 was found between patient age and the number of antimicrobials prescribed.Conclusions Penicillins beta-lactamase inhibitor is the most often prescribed class of antibiotics. Given the increased usage of injectable drugs the antimicrobial prescribing pattern deviates from WHO guidelines.