A Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Prescribing in a South Indian Tertiary Hospital; Using Global PPS Tool

Identifying the targets for improving antimicrobial prescription and development of antimicrobial stewardship interventions can better serve to combat the situation of antimicrobial resistance. The primary objective was to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial use at tertiary care teaching hospital with both acute and long-term care patients. A periodical point prevalence survey was done in a tertiary care hospital of South India during 2019 using manual and webbased GLOBAL-PPS tool. Of 945 patients eligible for the study, 645 (69.5 %) received at least one antibiotic, with highest rates in the adult surgical ward and pediatrics. Of 645 therapeutic antibiotic prescriptions, 58.6% prescriptions have an infectious indication of them, 62.6% are community-acquired infections. Third-generation cephalosporins were the most prescribed antibiotics. The prevalence of antibiotic use is very high, and our study evidence that the country needs a robust antimicrobial stewardship intervention program.