Usage of antimicrobial agents in paediatric wards at St. Luke's Hospital

Abstract

A clinical study on antibiotic therapy in paediatric surgical, medical and special care wards of St. Luke's Hospital, Malta, was carried out by means of a survey over a 10 week period. The scope of this study was to critically assess the necessity of treatment and the subsequent antibiotic choice, dosage, route of administration and the duration of treatment in relation to the nature of infection and its outcome. Besides analysis of the current antibiotic prescribing practice, patient history files were also consulted to determine the extent of prescribing of non-formulary and/or special items, as well as to analyse microbiological reports for the usual and possible unusual patterns of infection and sensitivity.