Pediatric Antimicrobial Usage in a Secondary Care Hospital in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates

Objectives: To assess the pattern of antimicrobial use among pediatric inpatients in a secondary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

Materials and Methods: The prospective study was conducted based on the electronic records of 600 patients, collected over a period of 11 months, from September 2020 to July 2021. The primary patient population was the pediatric patients receiving antimicrobials admitted to Saqr Hospital, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), United Arab Emirates (UAE). The data gathered includes general patient information, lab investigations, diagnoses, chronic medical conditions, and antimicrobials used. The number of defined daily doses (DDDs) administered per patient was calculated for each antimicrobial prescribed as per the WHO anatomical therapeutic chemical classification.

Results: Out of 1400 patients admitted to the pediatric unit during the 11-month study period, 600 (42.8%) received antimicrobials. The mean duration of hospital stay was 3.44 days, and each patient received a mean of 1.41 antimicrobials per prescription. The mean days of antimicrobial therapy were 6.9 days. The majority of the patients were aged 0–5 years (61.1%), and 58% of the total sample was male. Amongst a total of 41 different antimicrobials prescribed, the beta-lactam co-amoxiclav (J01CR02) was the most frequently (19.3%) used one, followed by cefuroxime (J01DC02) (16.3%), amoxicillin (J01CA04) (15.0%), and azithromycin (J01FA10) (5.99%). These were administered mainly via the parenteral route, and the most common indication was respiratory disease.

Conclusion: Our study concludes that most of the prescribed antimicrobials for pediatric patients are within the WHO access and watch group. Co-amoxiclav, cefuroxime, and amoxicillin are the most frequently used antimicrobials. The main indication for use was respiratory illness.