Drug utilization, rationality, and cost analysis of antimicrobial medicines in a tertiary care teaching hospital of Northern India: A prospective, observational study.

Background: The burden of bacterial infections is huge and grossly under-represented in the current health-care system. Inappropriate use of antimicrobial medicines (AMMs) poses a potential hazard to patients by causing antibiotic resistance. This study was conducted to assess the: (i) AMM consumption and use patterns in patients attending the outpatients and inpatients of Medicine and Surgery departments of the hospital.