Appropriate use of antibiotics--practices we should employ now: appropriate use of antibiotics for pharmacists in general hospitals
Yamada, K.
Rinsho Byori. Japanese Journal of Clinical Pathology 58(7): 706-710
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 0047-1860 PMID: 20715514 Document Number: 644211
An authorization system regarding infection has been devised for various occupations in the field of infection control. An infection control team (ICT) consists of authorized, specialized staff, and plays an important role in clinical practice, considering the appropriate use of antibiotics. Board-certified infection control pharmacy specialists also belong to this team. The appropriate use of antibiotics, which I emphasize, indicates the absence of the inappropriate selection of broad-spectrum agents and chronic administration, considering the following 3 points: the selection of antibiotics whose spectra involve causative bacteria (drug sensitivity), prescription of antibiotics using an appropriate administration method/dose based on their transfer to the infected site (pharmacokinetics), and relief of symptoms of infectious diseases (therapeutic effects). In this study, we introduce cases of pharmacists' intervention in Nakamura Memorial South Hospital with respect to the appropriate use of antibiotics by general hospital pharmacists. The contents of pharmacists' intervention included accompanying physicians on their rounds/support regarding prescription, therapeutic drug monitoring, the preparation of guidelines for the hospital use of antibiotics, culture data collection/preparation of antibiograms, ICT/Infection Control Committee (ICC) activities, hospital rounds, preparation of antibiotic injections, and gram staining of sputum. In the future, health care professionals should always consider the appropriate use of antibiotics, contributing to a medical environment in which current options can be maintained for future infectious disease treatment.