Investigation of the rational use of teicoplanin in inpatient wards of teaching hospitals in Birjand, Iran, from 2022 to 2023

Background and Aims: Incorrect and excessive use of antibiotics has led to a significant rise in drug resistance.Nowadays, irrational antibiotic use is a major contributor to increased illness, death, and healthcare costs.Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the pattern of Teicoplanin use in hospitalized patients at teaching hospitals in Birjand, Iran, from 2022 to 2023. Materials and Methods:This descriptive cross-sectional study based on hospital data was conducted on all patients hospitalized in the wards of Vali-Asr, Imam Reza, and Razi teaching hospitals in 2022 and 2023 who were prescribed Teicoplanin.In this study, all the information required by the patients was recorded in Excel based on the study objectives, as well as the global protocols of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA(, and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists )ASHP ( .Finally, the results were analyzed using the SPSS (version 26) software. Results:The study included 73 patients with a mean age of 64.2617.90years; 37 (51%) were women.The most common clinical conditions leading to Teicoplanin administration were pneumonia (73%) and sepsis (32.9%).According to the results, 87.7% of Teicoplanin treatments were based on antibiogram test results, while only nine patients (12.3%) received empirical Teicoplanin treatment.In 11% of cases, the loading dose of Teicoplanin was correctly administered.Additionally, the maintenance dose was correctly administered in 54 patients (74%).In addition, adverse drug reactions to Teicoplanin were observed in 12 patients (16.4%).The results revealed that 67 patients (91.8%) were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).According to the researcher-developed checklist, only four patients (5.4%) adhered to all protocol guidelines. Conclusion:According to the findings, the patterns of rational Teicoplanin prescription in the studied hospitals do not sufficiently align with existing guidelines and standards.