Antibiotics · Published 2026-07-31 · DOI 10.3390/antibiotics15080746
Megha Sharma, Katherine Rennie, Hager Saleh, Shubhra Mehta, Manoj Mehta, Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg
Objectives: To describe and compare decadal antibiotic prescribing patterns and trends by diagnosis groups among ophthalmology inpatients at two private-sector hospitals in Central India. Methods: This observational surveillance study was conducted prospectively for a decade in the ophthalmology inpatient departments of a teaching hospital (TH) and a non-teaching hospital (NTH). Patient-level data on demographics, diagnoses, and antibiotic prescriptions were collected by nurses using a standardised form. Antibiotic utilisation was analysed using WHO’s Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes and Defined Daily Doses (DDDs), as well as AWaRe groups (<i>Access</i>, <i>Watch</i>, <i>Reserve</i>). Diagnoses were classified into infectious and non-infectious categories, and surgical and non-surgical groups. Prescribing trends were analysed using descriptive statistics and linear regression models. Results: Of 7561 patients (TH: 7305; NTH: 256), antibiotics were prescribed to almost all inpatients (TH: 99%; NTH: 90%). Fluoroquinolones were the most prescribed (TH: 94%; NTH: 71%), predominantly by the oral route (73%). <i>Access</i>-group antibiotics were considerably under-prescribed relative to WHO targets (TH: 3%; NTH: 4%). <i>Watch</i>-group antibiotics comprised 97% (TH) and 96% (NTH) of all prescribed antibiotics, and their prescribing increased significantly over 10 years (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Conclusions: <i>Watch</i>-group fluoroquinolones dominated antibiotic prescribing at both hospitals and increased over the study period. <i>Access</i>-group antibiotics were substantially underutilised. These findings highlight an urgent need for context-specific antibiotic prescribing guidelines and stewardship programmes in ophthalmology settings in LMICs.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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Sharma, M., Rennie, K., Saleh, H., et al. (2026). Antibiotic Prescribing Among Inpatients with Ophthalmic Diagnoses: A Decade of Evidence from Two Private-Sector Indian Hospitals. Antibiotics. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15080746