Table 3.
Top five antibiotics (ATC level 5) prescribed for patients by type of infection (September to December 2019)
| Reasons for antibiotic use | Top 5 antibiotics used (ATC level 5) among all patients |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total |
First |
Second |
Third |
Fourth |
Fifth |
||||||||||||
| no. | (%) | Antibiotic | no. | (%) | Antibiotic | no. | (%) | Antibiotic | no. | (%) | Antibiotic | no. | (%) | Antibiotic | no. | (%) | |
| Infections | 1367 | (52.2) | |||||||||||||||
| Skin and soft tissue | 289 | (11.0) | CLI | 80 | (27.7) | MTZ | 51 | (17.6) | CIP | 38 | (13.1) | CXM | 37 | (12.8) | CTO | 20 | (6.9) |
| Bone/joint | 48 | (1.8) | CLI | 17 | (35.4) | CXM | 9 | (18.8) | CIP | 7 | (14.6) | AMC | 5 | (10.4) | FLX | 2 | (4.2) |
| Lower UTI | 90 | (3.4) | CXM | 52 | (57.8) | CIP | 12 | (13.3) | CTO | 9 | (10.0) | MTZ | 4 | (4.4) | AMX | 3 | (3.3) |
| Upper UTI | 40 | (1.5) | CXM | 12 | (30.0) | CTO | 5 | (12.5) | CIP | 4 | (10.0) | GEN, MEM | 3 | (7.5) | MTZ, NIT, CXM | 2 | (5.0) |
| Pneumonia or LRTI | 325 | (12.4) | CTO | 64 | (19.7) | AZM | 62 | (19.1) | AMC | 45 | (13.8) | MTZ | 28 | (8.6) | CXM | 26 | (8.0) |
| Upper RTI | 6 | (0.2) | CTO | 2 | (33.3) | CXM, AMC, GEM, AMX, CTO | 1 | (16.7) | |||||||||
| Obs/Gynae | 60 | (2.3) | MTZ | 18 | (30.0) | AMC | 9 | (15.0) | CLI | 8 | (13.3) | GEN | 6 | (10.0) | CTO | 5 | (8.3) |
| GU infections | 6 | (0.2) | PEN, CXM, DOX GEN, MTZ | 1 | (16.7) | (0.0) | (0.0) | ||||||||||
| Sepsis | 223 | (8.5) | CTO | 35 | (15.7) | GEN | 25 | (11.2) | CLX | 24 | (10.8) | CTX | 20 | (9.0) | AMK | 16 | (7.2) |
| PUO | 15 | (0.6) | CTO, CIP | 4 | (26.7) | GEN | 2 | (13.3) | AZM, CXM, AMC, CLI, LVX | 1 | (6.7) | (0.0) | (0.0) | ||||
| CNS | 85 | (3.2) | CTO | 28 | (32.9) | MTZ | 10 | (11.8) | COT | 7 | (8.2) | CXM, CIP | 5 | (5.9) | COT, GEN | 4 | (4.7) |
| Intra-abdominal | 52 | (2.0) | MTZ | 21 | (40.4) | CIP | 9 | (17.3) | CTO | 8 | (15.4) | CXM | 4 | (7.7) | AMC | 3 | (5.8) |
| GI | 101 | (3.9) | MTZ | 44 | (43.6) | CIP | 22 | (21.8) | CTO | 8 | (7.9) | AMX | 7 | (6.9) | CLR | 4 | (4.0) |
| ENT | 17 | (0.6) | CTO, AMC, MTZ | 3 | (17.6) | PEN, AMX, GEN | 2 | (11.8) | CLI, AMK | 1 | (5.9) | ||||||
| CVS | 3 | (0.1) | PEN, AMX, CTO | 1 | (33.3) | ||||||||||||
| Other infections | 7 | (0.3) | AMX, CTO, MTZ, ERY, FLX, GEN, MTZ | 1 | (14.3) | ||||||||||||
| Prophylaxis | 893 | (34.1) | MTZ | 276 | (30.9) | AMC | 121 | (13.5) | CXM | 116 | (13.0) | AMX | 73 | (8.2) | CTO | 57 | (6.4) |
| Medical | 209 | (8.0) | MTZ | 29 | (13.9) | AMC, CXM | 23 | (11.0) | GEN | 18 | (8.6) | CIP | 16 | (7.7) | AMK | 15 | (7.2) |
| Surgical | 684 | (26.1) | MTZ | 247 | (36.1) | AMC | 113 | (16.5) | CXM | 93 | (13.6) | AMX | 65 | (9.5) | CTO | 60 | (8.8) |
| Unknown reasons | 360 | (13.7) | MTZ | 65 | (18.1) | CXM, CTO | 48 | (13.3) | GEN | 34 | (9.4) | AMP | 28 | (7.8) | CIP | 27 | (7.5) |
| All prescriptions | 2620 | MTZ | 541 | (20.6) | CXM | 338 | (12.9) | CTO | 310 | (11.8) | AMC | 231 | (8.8) | CIP | 204 | (7.8) | |
ATC, Anatomic therapeutic classification; UTI, urinary tract infections; LRTI, lower respiratory tract infections; Obs/Gynae obstetrics and gynaecological infections; GU, genitourinary infections in men; PUO, pyrexia of unknown origin; GI, gastrointestinal tract; ENT, ear, nose and throat; CVS, cardiovascular system; CLI, clindamycin, CXM, cefuroxime, CTO, ceftriaxone; MTZ, metronidazole; PEN, benzylpenicillin; DOX, doxycycline; GEN, gentamicin; CIP, ciprofloxacin; AMC, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid; AMX, amoxicillin; ERY, erythromycin; FLX, flucloxacillin; GEM, gemifloxacin; AZM, azithromycin; LVX, levofloxacin; COT, cotrimoxazole; AMK, amikacin; CTX, cefotaxime; AMP, ampicillin; NIT, nitrofurantoin; CLR, clarithromycin.