Antimicrobial drug use in a small Indian community hospital.

Antimicrobial drug use and overuse have been a topic of interest for many years, lately focusing on the growing resistance worldwide. This study was conducted in a small Indian hospital, where more than 80% of all admitted patients received antimicrobial drugs. Penicillin, gentamycin, co-trimoxazole, ciprofloxacin and metronidazole were most commonly used and all antimicrobial drugs were given empirically with no confirmation of the infective agent. Reports of increasing resistance to antimicrobial drugs in India, and elsewhere, necessitates a focus on how antimicrobials drugs are used in relation to investigations of resistance patterns among the local strains of pathogens. This study may be considered a base-line study, though of relevance for other hospitals, in particular in low-income areas, where development of resistance to standard antimicrobial drugs may have severe implications for both patients and health managers.