Antibiotic consumption history of patients in a referred laboratory in Yaounde.

Background: Regulation of antibiotic prescription and consumption remains a major public health burden in low- and middle- income countries.

Objective: This study aimed to describe the antibiotic consumption of patients who had a positive antibiotic culture in a reference laboratory.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted among 113 participants with positive antibiograms with a documented history of antibiotics intake at the Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital in Cameroon between January 2016 and June 2021. Data were stored and analyzed using the Census and Survey Processing System version 7.3 and Statistical Package for Social Science version 25.0. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the indicators.

Results: Of the 113 patients enrolled, 105 had a history of drug use; 56 participants (53.3%) had taken at least 2 antibiotics prior to sampling. Cephalosporins were the most consumed antibiotics (41%), followed by nitroimidazols (28.6%) and penicillins (28.6%). According to the World Health Organization classification, 55 (52.4%) took major priority antibiotics.

Conclusion: We are on the alert and there is an urgent need to raise awareness among clinicians and patients alike by providing them with good clinical practice guidelines.