The Economic Burden of Antibiotic Resistance Based on Anti-microbial Susceptibility Tests in Various Infections in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Prospective Study

Introduction: Antibiotics are anti-microbial agents used for the treatment of various bacterial infections. Excessive use, inappropriate prescription pattern conduct to antibiotic resistance (AR). Antibiotic resistance leads to an increase in the cost of medical care. Our study assess the economic burden due to antibiotic resistance based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing in different infections.

Methods: The data for the study was collected prospectively and recorded in a data collection form specially designed for the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria obtained from the Department of General Medicine, NIMS Hospital, Neyyattinkara, Thiruvananthapuram of patients with infectious diseases during the period of 6 months from April 2021 to September 2021.

Results: 128 patients were studied, 53.1% (n=68) were males and 46.9% (n=60) were females and the most frequent age range was between 46-60 years of age (35%, n=45).The most common infection seen in patients was urinary tract infection (20.3%, n=26). The socioeconomic status, (50%, n=64) belonged to lower- middle class. Antibiotic sensitivity test was done in (52.3%, n=67) and the patients with resistance (Rs.26530.81) had more mean cost than those without resistance (Rs.18412.01) showing highly significant difference (p=0.001). The resistant patients without antibiotic sensitivity testing had (Rs.30193.14).

Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the resistant patients without antibiotic sensitivity testing had a significantly higher financial burden. Therefore, we strongly recommend to perform antibiotic sensitivity testing (AST) in patients with infectious diseases. Also, patient should be well-informed about the details and the results of antibiotic sensitivity testing to ensure medication adherence and to avoid self- medication.