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 100 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.