Point prevalence survey of antibiotic use in hospitals in Latin American countries.

BACKGROUND: Point prevalence surveys (PPSs) on antibiotic use are useful for understanding different aspects related to prescription patterns in hospitals. METHODS: An adaptation of the WHO methodology for a PPS on antibiotic use was applied. Hospital wards were divided into medical (MED), surgical (SUR), ICUs, gynaecology and obstetrics (GO), high-risk (HR) and mixed wards (MIX). A web application (RedCap©) through a mobile device was used for data collection. RESULTS: Between December 2018 and August 2019, 5444 patients in 33 hospitals in five countries were included (10 hospitals in Cuba, 7 in Paraguay, 6 in El Salvador, 5 in Mexico and 5 in Peru). Of these patients, 54.6% received at least one antibiotic, with variations between and within hospitals and countries. Antibiotics were more frequently used in ICUs (67.2%), SUR (64.5%) and MED wards (54.2%), with 51.2% of antibiotics prescribed for community-acquired infections (CAIs), 22.9% for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), 11.1% for surgical prophylaxis and 6.1% for unknown reasons. Adherence to guidelines was observed in 68.6% of cases (72.8% for CAIs, 72.4% for HAIs and 44.3% for prophylaxis). Third-generation cephalosporins were the class of antibiotics most frequently used (26.8%), followed by carbapenems (10.3%) and fluoroquinolones (8%). Targeted treatments were achieved in 17.3% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic use was generally higher than that published in other studies. There is an urgent need to promote and strengthen the antimicrobial stewardship programmes in Latin America.

Recomendaciones sanitarias a los centros de salud para la seguridad del paciente en la pandemia por COVid-19: herramienta educativa subvalorada / Sanitary recommendations in health centers for patient safety in the COVID-19 pandemic: undervalued educational tool

Se presentan medidas preventivas (recomendaciones) basadas en la educación sanitaria que influirían en un mejor manejo de la seguridad de los pacientes en la pandemia de COVID-19. En este artículo se hace hincapié en la revalorización de la educación sanitaria con el fin de fortalecer la concientización en los profesionales de la salud y la población.

Preventive measures (recommendations) based on health education that would influence a better management of patient safety in the COVID-19 pandemic are presented. In this paper, emphasis is placed on the revaluation of health education in order to strengthen awareness among health professionals and the population.