| Title |
Prevalence and predictors of antibiotic prescription errors in an emergency department, Central Saudi Arabia
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety, June 2015
|
| DOI | 10.2147/dhps.s83770 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Menyfah Q Alanazi, Majed I Al-Jeraisy, Mahmoud Salam |
| Abstract |
Inappropriate antibiotic (ATB) prescriptions are a threat to patients, leading to adverse drug reactions, bacterial resistance, and subsequently, elevated hospital costs. Our aim was to evaluate ATB prescriptions in an emergency department of a tertiary care facility. A cross-sectional study was conducted by reviewing charts of patients complaining of infections. Patient characteristics (age, sex, weight, allergy, infection type) and prescription characteristics (class, dose, frequency, duration) were evaluated for appropriateness based on the AHFS Drug Information and the Drug Information Handbook. Descriptive and analytic statistics were applied. Sample with equal sex distribution constituted of 5,752 cases: adults (≥15 years) =61% and pediatrics (<15 years) =39%. Around 55% complained of respiratory tract infections, 25% urinary tract infections (UTIs), and 20% others. Broad-spectrum coverage ATBs were prescribed for 76% of the cases. Before the prescription, 82% of pediatrics had their weight taken, while 18% had their weight estimated. Allergy checking was done in 8% only. Prevalence of inappropriate ATB prescriptions with at least one type of error was 46.2% (pediatrics =58% and adults =39%). Errors were in ATB selection (2%), dosage (22%), frequency (4%), and duration (29%). Dosage and duration errors were significantly predominant among pediatrics (P<0.001 and P<0.0001, respectively). Selection error was higher among adults (P=0.001). Age stratification and binary logistic regression were applied. Significant predictors of inappropriate prescriptions were associated with: 1) cephalosporin prescriptions (adults: P<0.001, adjusted odds ratio [adj OR] =3.31) (pediatrics: P<0.001, adj OR =4.12) compared to penicillin; 2) UTIs (adults: P<0.001, adj OR =2.78) (pediatrics: P=0.039, adj OR =0.73) compared to respiratory tract infections; 3) obtaining weight for pediatrics before the prescription of ATB (P<0.001, adj OR =1.83) compared to those whose weight was estimated; and 4) broad-spectrum ATBs in adults (P=0.002, adj OR =0.67). Prevalence of ATB prescription errors in this emergency department was generally high and was particularly common with cephalosporin, narrow-spectrum ATBs, and UTI infections. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 8 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 2 | 25% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 13% |
| Unknown | 5 | 63% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 6 | 75% |
| Scientists | 1 | 13% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 1 | 13% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 73 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 73 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 11 | 15% |
| Student > Postgraduate | 9 | 12% |
| Researcher | 5 | 7% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 4 | 5% |
| Student > Bachelor | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 11 | 15% |
| Unknown | 29 | 40% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Medicine and Dentistry | 18 | 25% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 9 | 12% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 4% |
| Chemistry | 3 | 4% |
| Economics, Econometrics and Finance | 2 | 3% |
| Other | 10 | 14% |
| Unknown | 28 | 38% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 18 June 2015.
All research outputs
#6,989,589
of 25,576,801 outputs
Outputs from Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety
#66
of 156 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#75,912
of 281,751 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety
#2
of 7 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,576,801 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 156 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.8. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 57% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 281,751 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 7 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than 5 of them.