New Delhi, March 9: Experts from across the country, in a first-of-its-kind initiative, have developed national guidelines for antibiotic use in intensive care units (ICUs). The 40-doctor committee, comprising members of the Indian Critical Care Medicine Society (ICCMS), has prepared the country’s first India-centric guidelines for antibiotic prescription in the ICU. The ICCMS has recently discussed the guidelines with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and who will be submitting it to the Union health ministry.
The recommendation is on the basis of the Indian microbial flora not relying on western scenarios. The Indian literature has also been compared with the western guidelines.
“This will help in planning the antibiotic policy and strategies of using the antibiotics in ICU. It will avoid the misuse and overuse of antibiotics.” It will help to precisely pinpoint what antibiotics to start a specific drug with. It would streamline the use of antibiotics in a judicious way.” Said, Dr Subhash Dixit, president of ICCMS.
The guidelines have been made after witnessing the mortality rate which remains consistently high due to severe sepsis, septic shock, acute infective diarrhoea, ventilator-associated pneumonia, abdominal infection, skin, soft tissue infection, bacterial meningitis and multi-drug resistance pathogens in ICUs. The guidelines have been discussed with the ICMR director Balram Bhargava and ICCMS is in the process of sending the guidelines to ICMR and the ministry of health for approval.
Former president of ICCMS, Dr Kapil Zirpe, who heads the neuro-trauma unit at Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, said, “This are the first time such detailed guidelines have been drafted that are India centric. The guidelines are for Indian doctors and have been prepared after considering the Indian perspective on dosage, a combination of drugs and expenses.”
He added, “The guidelines will help medical institutions set up a proper structure for using antibiotics and help understand the kind of infection and analyse what kind of antibiotic will work for the patient.”