PRESCRIBING PATTERN OF ANTIBIOTICS IN COPD - A REVIEW

Dr. Allimalarkodi*, Tony Alex, Sneha V. Louis, Sushmitha S.

ABSTRACT

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common cause of consultation in general practice across the globe. Antibiotics are widely used in the therapeutic regimen for the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The effect of antibiotics in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is limited and there is no general agreement about the criteria to use them. The benefit of antibiotics in mild to moderate exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease remains controversial, and their overuse can contribute to the development of bacterial resistance. This study was carried out to collect relevant demographic information, antibiotic prescribing patterns. For this, various published articles obtained from various sources like google scholar databases, PubMed databases were reviewed. Based on the study conducted, it was found out that, a periodic study on the usage of antibiotics and sensitivity pattern in the hospitals will enable the health care professionals to select the appropriate antibiotic to promote the rational use of antibiotics and to reduce antibiotic resistance.

Keywords: Antibiotics, COPD, Prescribing pattern