Drug Utilization Pattern and Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring of Antibiotics Use in Ear, Nose and Throat Infection at Tertiary Care Hospital, Lucknow, India

Objective: To investigate the ENT department’s (OPD, IPD) antibiotic prescribing practices at a tertiary care hospital in Lucknow, India. Material and Methods A prospective, cross-sectional, non-experimental (observational) study was performed in (OPD, IPD) department of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) over a period of 6 months. Result In this study, 100 ENT patients (51 male, 49 female) were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Ear infections were the most common reason for visits (86 patients), followed by nose (7 patients) and throat infections (5 patients). The most commonly prescribed antibiotics were β-lactam antibiotics, with penicillin’s (amoxicillin with clavulanic acid) and cephalosporin’s (cefixime) being the most commonly used. Combination therapy was used in 117 patients, with an average of 1.9 antibiotics per patient per course. A total of 40 antibiotics were prescribed, with oral being the most common route of administration. Only one adverse drug reaction was reported, with a suspected link to cefixime causing an increase in rashes in one patient. The study population had comorbid conditions of anxiety, epilepsy, and anaemia. Conclusions To conclude, our study in the university teaching hospital (IIMSR) highlighted lesser utilization of antibiotics in ENT infections, as some of the ENT infections are not due to bacteria. The majority of ENT patients admitted to the hospital appear to have bacterial infections, and most of them reacted favourably to antibiotic treatment. Majority of the patients used the regimen in accordance with the current guidelines. Keywords: Antibiotic agents, drug utilization, adverse drug reaction, ENT infection.