Exploring antibiotic safety: A prospective observational study from a tertiary care public sector hospital

Background: Antibiotics are the most commonly used drugs to treat bacterial infections; however, these lifesaving drugs can also cause adverse drug reactions. In several pharmacovigilance studies, adverse drug reactions are a cause of prolonged hospitalization. The development of hypersensitivity reactions even after a negative skin test and patch test makes antibiotic-associated adverse reactions unpredictable. Owing to the scarcity of data on antibiotic desensitization, these drugs are important for pharmacovigilance. Most of the previous studies conducted were retrospective and lacked data regarding the duration of adverse drug reactions. Aim: This study aimed to examine adverse drug reactions associated with antibiotics and to provide knowledge on the duration of these reactions. Method: A prospective observational study was conducted on patients receiving antibiotics at a tertiary care hospital. The patients were followed until discharge, and causality and severity assessments were performed. Descriptive statistical analyses were performed to summarize the data. Results: The study results show the median duration of adverse drug reactions was two days, with an interquartile range of two to four days. Most (21,3%) of the reactions were caused by cephalosporins. The majority (44.7%) of the reactions were skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders. The majority (78.7%) of the reactions were moderately severe and were not responsible for prolonged hospital stay. Conclusion: The patients receiving antibiotics require close monitoring for early detection and management of adverse reactions to reduce the duration of hospital stay and the duration of adverse drug reactions.