Survey of antibiotic prescribing in a district general hospital. I. Pattern of use.

In a survey of all antibiotic prescription in a district general hospital during November, 1978, the reason for each prescription was determined by a brief interview with the prescriber. 28% of all inpatients received antibiotics. Older patients were prescribed antibiotics more often than were younger patients. Ampicillin was the most frequently used antibiotic, accounting for over 40% of prescriptions. Over 70% of antibiotic courses were stated by the prescriber as being for the treatment of infection and the remainder were said to be prophylactic. Although 80% of the antibiotics were assessed as suitable treatment for the stated infection, most of the patients were treated without bacteriological evidence of the infecting agent and, for these patients, prescribers were unable to specify the pathogen against which treatment was intended in 50% of the courses they initiated. Only 7% of antibiotics prescribed for conventional surgical prophylaxis fulfilled all the criteria used to assess the suitability of choice of drug and the method and timing of its administration.