Appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in the Emergency Department.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antibiotics are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the Emergency Department (ED) and yet data describing the overall appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in the ED is scarce.

Objectives

To describe the appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in the ED.

Methods

A retrospective, observational study of current practice. All patients who presented to the ED during the study period and were prescribed at least one antibiotic were included. Specialists from Infectious Disease, Microbiology and Emergency Medicine and a Senior Pharmacist assessed antibiotic appropriateness against evidence-based guidelines.

Results

A total of 1019 (13.6%) of patient presentations involved the prescription of at least one antibiotic. Of these, 640 (62.8%) an

SUBMITTER: Denny KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6337898 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature