Antibiotic usage in a South African paediatric medical ward following the introduction of an antibiotic prescription chart.

Introduction: the global rise in antibiotic resistance (ABR), coupled with a dry pipeline for the discovery of new antibiotics requires the conservation of currently available antibiotics. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions are being implemented to optimize antibiotic use including the use of antibiotic prescription charts. This study reviewed the use of antibiotics before and after the introduction of an antibiotic prescription chart in a paediatric medical ward of an academic tertiary hospital in Johannesburg.