Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications

Linda Siachalinga,1,* Brian Godman,2– 4,* Julius C Mwita,5,* Israel Abebrese Sefah,6,* Olayinka O Ogunleye,7,8,* Amos Massele,9,* Iyn-Hyang Lee1,* 1College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Ph...

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Main Authors: Siachalinga L, Godman B, Mwita JC, Sefah IA, Ogunleye OO, Massele A, Lee IH
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2023-04-01
Series:Infection and Drug Resistance
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.dovepress.com/current-antibiotic-use-among-hospitals-in-the-sub-saharan-africa-regio-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR
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author Siachalinga L
Godman B
Mwita JC
Sefah IA
Ogunleye OO
Massele A
Lee IH
author_facet Siachalinga L
Godman B
Mwita JC
Sefah IA
Ogunleye OO
Massele A
Lee IH
author_sort Siachalinga L
collection DOAJ
description Linda Siachalinga,1,* Brian Godman,2– 4,* Julius C Mwita,5,* Israel Abebrese Sefah,6,* Olayinka O Ogunleye,7,8,* Amos Massele,9,* Iyn-Hyang Lee1,* 1College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0RE, UK; 3Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, 346, United Arab Emirates; 4Department of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, 02084, South Africa; 5Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana; 6Pharmacy Practice Department, School of Pharmacy, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana; 7Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos, 100271, Nigeria; 8Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, 100271, Nigeria; 9Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Linda Siachalinga, College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38541, Republic of Korea, Tel +82 10 4112 7997, Email lindasiachalinga@yu.ac.krBackground: The rapid rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally, impacting on morbidity, mortality and costs with sub-Saharan African countries reporting the greatest burden is a concern. Instigation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) can improve antibiotic use in hospitals and reduce AMR. Implementing ASPs requires knowledge of antibiotic utilization against agreed quality indicators with the data obtained from point prevalence surveys (PPS), hence the need to document antibiotic utilization patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods: A narrative review to document current utilization patterns, challenges, indicators and ASPs across sub-Saharan Africa based on previous reviews by the authors, supplemented by the considerable knowledge and experience of the co-authors.Results: Results from multiple PPS studies showed a high prevalence of antibiotic use among hospitals, mostly over 50%. Prevalence rates ranged from as low as 37.7% in South Africa to as high as 80.1% in Nigeria. There was also considerable prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics which could be due to lack of facilities within hospitals, alongside concerns with co-payments to perform microbiological tests, resulting in empiric prescribing. This is a concern alongside lack of guidelines or adherence to guidelines, which was as low as 4% in one study. Another concern was the high rates of extended prophylaxis to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs), with antibiotics often prescribed for longer than 24 hours, usually multiple doses. Several quality indicators have been used to evaluate antibiotic utilization providing exemplars for the future. Among the initiatives being instigated to improve antibiotic use, ASPs have proved effective. For ASPs to be successful objectives and indicators must be agreed, and regular audits undertaken.Conclusion: Antibiotic prescribing across Africa is characterised by high prevalence, usually empirical. Various prescribing and quality indicators are being employed to assess antibiotic use, and ASPs have shown to improve antibiotic prescribing providing direction to reduce AMR.Keywords: antibiotic use, sub-Saharan Africa, point prevalence surveys, quality indicators, surgical site infections, antimicrobial stewardship programs
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spelling doaj.art-1ce8cf1f550f4585a6c8f105251457892023-04-13T19:17:09ZengDove Medical PressInfection and Drug Resistance1178-69732023-04-01Volume 162179219083002Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and ImplicationsSiachalinga LGodman BMwita JCSefah IAOgunleye OOMassele ALee IHLinda Siachalinga,1,* Brian Godman,2– 4,* Julius C Mwita,5,* Israel Abebrese Sefah,6,* Olayinka O Ogunleye,7,8,* Amos Massele,9,* Iyn-Hyang Lee1,* 1College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, 38541, Republic of Korea; 2Department of Pharmacoepidemiology, Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0RE, UK; 3Centre of Medical and Bio-Allied Health Sciences Research, Ajman University, Ajman, 346, United Arab Emirates; 4Department of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, 02084, South Africa; 5Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana; 6Pharmacy Practice Department, School of Pharmacy, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana; 7Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, Lagos, 100271, Nigeria; 8Department of Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, 100271, Nigeria; 9Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Hubert Kairuki Memorial University, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Linda Siachalinga, College of Pharmacy, Yeungnam University, 280 Daehak-Ro, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, 38541, Republic of Korea, Tel +82 10 4112 7997, Email lindasiachalinga@yu.ac.krBackground: The rapid rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally, impacting on morbidity, mortality and costs with sub-Saharan African countries reporting the greatest burden is a concern. Instigation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) can improve antibiotic use in hospitals and reduce AMR. Implementing ASPs requires knowledge of antibiotic utilization against agreed quality indicators with the data obtained from point prevalence surveys (PPS), hence the need to document antibiotic utilization patterns in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods: A narrative review to document current utilization patterns, challenges, indicators and ASPs across sub-Saharan Africa based on previous reviews by the authors, supplemented by the considerable knowledge and experience of the co-authors.Results: Results from multiple PPS studies showed a high prevalence of antibiotic use among hospitals, mostly over 50%. Prevalence rates ranged from as low as 37.7% in South Africa to as high as 80.1% in Nigeria. There was also considerable prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics which could be due to lack of facilities within hospitals, alongside concerns with co-payments to perform microbiological tests, resulting in empiric prescribing. This is a concern alongside lack of guidelines or adherence to guidelines, which was as low as 4% in one study. Another concern was the high rates of extended prophylaxis to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs), with antibiotics often prescribed for longer than 24 hours, usually multiple doses. Several quality indicators have been used to evaluate antibiotic utilization providing exemplars for the future. Among the initiatives being instigated to improve antibiotic use, ASPs have proved effective. For ASPs to be successful objectives and indicators must be agreed, and regular audits undertaken.Conclusion: Antibiotic prescribing across Africa is characterised by high prevalence, usually empirical. Various prescribing and quality indicators are being employed to assess antibiotic use, and ASPs have shown to improve antibiotic prescribing providing direction to reduce AMR.Keywords: antibiotic use, sub-Saharan Africa, point prevalence surveys, quality indicators, surgical site infections, antimicrobial stewardship programshttps://www.dovepress.com/current-antibiotic-use-among-hospitals-in-the-sub-saharan-africa-regio-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDRantibiotic usesub-saharan africapoint prevalence surveysquality indicatorssurgical site infectionsantimicrobial stewardship programs
spellingShingle Siachalinga L
Godman B
Mwita JC
Sefah IA
Ogunleye OO
Massele A
Lee IH
Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications
Infection and Drug Resistance
antibiotic use
sub-saharan africa
point prevalence surveys
quality indicators
surgical site infections
antimicrobial stewardship programs
title Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications
title_full Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications
title_fullStr Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications
title_full_unstemmed Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications
title_short Current Antibiotic Use Among Hospitals in the sub-Saharan Africa Region; Findings and Implications
title_sort current antibiotic use among hospitals in the sub saharan africa region findings and implications
topic antibiotic use
sub-saharan africa
point prevalence surveys
quality indicators
surgical site infections
antimicrobial stewardship programs
url https://www.dovepress.com/current-antibiotic-use-among-hospitals-in-the-sub-saharan-africa-regio-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR
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