Audit of Antibiotic Uses in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Assiut University Hospital

Abstract
Background: Antimicrobial therapy is common among patients hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) compared with patients in the general hospital population. Overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics are key factors contributing to emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens, so surveillance of their use is important.
Aim of Study: To assess the appropriateness of antimicro-bial prescription according to clinical and microbiological findings, and formulary guidelines.
Patients and Methods: The study included 162 patients who stayed longer than 24 hours in the pediatric ICU.
Results: All of the total 162 patients admitted in PICU during the study period received antibiotics: Of them 30.8% (n=50) prophylactically, 70.3% (n=114) empirically, and 11.7% (n=19) therapeutically. 18.5% of patients received one antibiotic, and 81.5% received two or more antimicrobial combination.
Conclusion: This study provides valuable insight to antibiotics usage in PICU of developing country, which shows that antibiotics are prescribed universally in our PICU. Strat-egies to assess the need for antibiotic use are needed.