Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Use in Four Tertiary Care Hospitals in Mexico

PURPOSE: To describe the antimicrobial use in four tertiary care hospitals in Mexico. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Point prevalence surveys (PPSs) were conducted on medical records of hospitalized patients with prescribed antimicrobials (AMs) in four tertiary care hospitals in Mexico in 2019. Prevalence estimates and descriptive statistics were used to present the collected data on antimicrobial prescribing and microbiological studies. RESULTS: The prevalence of patients with prescribed AMs among the hospitals ranged from 47.1% to 91.3%. Antibiotics for systemic use (J01s) were the most prescribed (84.6%, [95% CI: 81.5–87.3]), mainly extended-spectrum J01s: third-generation cephalosporins 19.8% [95% CI: 16.8–23.1], and carbapenems 17.0% [95% CI: 14.2–20.2]. Antibiotic treatments were largely empirical, with no planned duration or review dates. The ceftriaxone use was excessive and prolonged. No formal reference guidelines for antimicrobial prescribing were available in the hospitals. Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli and ESKAPE pathogens were identified in all hospitals. CONCLUSION: This study describes the extensive use of antimicrobials and broad-spectrum antibiotics for systemic use in Mexican hospitals, along with the presence of resistant pathogens to the antibiotics frequently used in the hospitals surveyed.