A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ON ANTIBIOTIC PRESCRIBING PATTERN ACCORDING TO THE WHO AWARE CLASSIFICATION AT A SUPER SPECIALTY HOSPITAL IN SOUTH INDIA

Research on antibiotic prescription practices in India is crucial due to resistance, limited data, knowledge gaps, and the importance of evidence-based interventions for public health.The current study was performed to evaluate the antibiotic prescribing pattern and its use in out-patient department of a super specialty hospital in south India.The six-month study approved by the ethics committee included patient prescription of different ages and genders diagnosed with infections and prescribed antibiotics.Patient information, including health status, antibiotic details, and prescription trends, was collected with consent.Antibiotic prescribing pattern and its use was investigated with the help of World Health Organization access, watch, reserve antibiotics and core prescribing indicators.In 285 prescriptions a total of 747 drugs were identified, averaging 2.62 drugs per encounter.Among which 4.15% were generic, 83.5% were essential medicines, and 9.47% were injections.Antibiotics were used in 42.23% of encounters, averaging 1.08% per prescription.Overutilization of antibiotics was observed in the Watch category (41.6%), while 6.8% were categorized as Reserve.The most commonly prescribed antibiotics consisted of a combination of penicillins and beta lactamase inhibitors (29.1%).The study revealed a discrepancy in antibiotic prescribing practices, characterized by under-prescribing