RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: To assess antimicrobial prescribing in a Northern Ireland hospital (Antrim Area Hospital (AAH)) and compare them with those of a hospital in Jordan (Specialty Hospital). METHODS: Using the Global-PPS approach, the present study surveyed patients admitted to the hospital in 2015, the prescribed antibiotics, and a set of quality control indicators related to antibiotics. RESULTS: Ultimately, 444 and 112 inpatients in the AAH and the Specialty Hospital, respectively, were surveyed. For the medical group, 165 inpatients were prescribed 239 antibiotics in the AAH, while 44 patients in the Specialty Hospital were prescribed 65 antibiotics. In relation to the surgical group, 34 inpatients treated for infection were prescribed 66 antibiotics in the AAH, while 41 patients in the Specialty Hospital treated for infection were prescribed 56 antibiotics. For the medical patients, the most frequently prescribed antibiotics in the AAH were a combination of penicillins (18.8%) and penicillins with extended spectrum (18.8%). For the surgical patients, the most frequently prescribed antibiotics in the AAH were imidazole derivatives (24.2%). For the medical and surgical patients in the Specialty Hospital, the most frequently prescribed antibiotics were third-generation cephalosporins (26.2 and 37.5%, respectively). In medical patients, compliance to guidelines was 92.2% in the Specialty Hospital compared to 72.0% in the AAH (p < 0.001). In surgical patients, compliance to guidelines was 92.7% in the Specialty Hospital compared to 81.8% in the AAH (p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlighted differences in the utilisation of antimicrobials between two hospitals in two distinct regions and benchmarked antibiotic prescriptions across two hospitals.