WHO/INRUD prescribing indicators among tertiary regional referral hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: a call to strengthen antibiotic stewardship programmes.

Background: Antibiotic prescribing should be guided by national essential medicines lists (NEMLs) and treatment guidelines; however, there are inadequate data on antibiotic utilization patterns in tertiary hospitals in Tanzania. This study aimed to determine antibiotic prescribing patterns in tertiary hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in three regional referral hospitals. About 200 prescription records from 2020 to 2022 were analysed at each hospital for prescribing patterns using WHO/ International Network of Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) indicators (1993) and the AWaRe 2021 classification. Factors associated with receiving an antibiotic prescription were assessed using a logistic regression model. Facilities were ranked on prescribing practices using the index of rational drug prescribing (IRDP). Results: A total of 2239 drugs were prescribed, of which 920 (41.1%) were antibiotics. An average of 3.7 ±â€Š1.5 (optimal: 1.6-1.8) total medicines and 1.53 ±â€Š0.78 antibiotics were prescribed per patient. About 88.0% (528) of the prescriptions contained antibiotics (optimal: 20.0%-26.8%), while 78.2% (413) of all antibiotic prescriptions contained injections (optimal: 13.4%-24.1%). Furthermore, 87.5% (462) of the antibiotics were prescribed in generic names (optimal: 100%), while 98.7% (521) conformed to the NEML (optimal: 100%). Metronidazole was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic (39.2%; n = 134), followed by ceftriaxone (37.1%, n = 127) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (8.5%, n = 29). Conclusions: We found substantial empirical prescribing and overuse of antibiotics exceeding WHO recommendations. Antibiotic overuse varied across the hospitals. Being male, having underlying conditions such as diabetes mellitus, and/or being treated at Temeke hospital were associated with receiving an antibiotic prescription. We recommend strengthening antibiotic stewardship programmes in the studied facilities.

WHO/INRUD core prescribing indicators and antibiotic utilization patterns among primary health care facilities in Ilala district, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic use requires regular monitoring to prevent emergence of antibiotic resistance. OBJECTIVES: To assess antibiotic prescribing patterns at health care facilities (HCF) in Ilala district, Tanzania. METHODS: A 1 year retrospective study was conducted in four HCFs using WHO/International Network of Rational Use of Drugs (INRUD) core prescribing indicators. Factors associated with antibiotic prescription were analysed using logistic regression model. RESULTS: A total of 604 prescriptions were reviewed. Patients had median age (IQR) of 15 (4-31) years with majority having upper respiratory tract infection 33.3% (n = 201), urinary tract infection 31.1% (n = 188) or diarrhoea 21.2% (n = 128). Out of 624 prescribed antibiotics, amoxicillin was the most common (22.7%), followed by ciprofloxacin (13.6%) and metronidazole (11.6%). The studied HCFs had an average of 1.99 medicines prescribed per consultation (reference: 1.6-1.8). Of 1203 medicines prescribed, 51.9% (n = 624) were antibiotics (reference: 20.0%-26.8%). Additionally, 97.6% (n = 609) of the antibiotics appeared on the national essential medicines list, whereby 84.4% (n = 510) were prescribed by generic names (reference: 100%). Patients with peptic ulcers had a 4.4-fold higher chance of receiving antibiotics [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.918-10.13, P = 0.0001] while patients with diarrhoea had a 2.6-fold higher chance of receiving at least one antibiotic (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.206-5.491, P = 0.015). CONCLUSIONS: We found inappropriate use of antibiotics in the studied primary HCFs. Antibiotic stewardship programmes should be extended to primary HCFs found in Ilala district.