Asim Priyendu

Direct Costs And Length of Stay In Patients With Methicillin Resistant Versus Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus Infection In A Tertiary Care Hospital In India.

Objectives: To find out the average direct hospitalization cost and length of hospital stay for patients infected with Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumonia (CRKp) and compare it with that of patients infected with Carbapenem-sensitive Klebsiella pneumonia (CSKp). MethOds: A cross sectional study was carried out from January-December 2014 and the data for hospitalization cost was collected for the patients with CRKp and CSKp infections from the medicine ICU for 72 patients admitted to the hospital. The data was analyzed for the site of infection, length of stay and average direct hospitalization cost which was then compared between the two groups. Results: During the study period, 101 patients were diagnosed with Klebsiella pneumoniae infection. 61.79% of the infections were respiratory, 24.52% urinary tractrelated, 13.2% systemic and 0.47% skin and soft tissue-related. The mean age of the study population was 51.7 ± 15.7 years. The median length of stay for CRKp was 12 (11; 23) days as compared to 8 (5.2; 13.2) days in CSKp patients . The median direct hospitalization cost was calculated to be INR 43,274 (24,898; 16,0315) in case of CRKp versus INR 23,452 (12,489; 47,349) in CSKp patients. cOnclusiOns: We observed that the average cost of overall therapy and the average no. of hospitalization days was higher in CRKp group compared to CSKp group. Antibiotic resistance is a growing phenomenon and the resistance to Carbapenems can lead to increased burden of morbidity and treatment cost for patients.

Emerging drug therapy management: Need of the day

Drug therapy management (DTM) is one of the new terms introduced recently and is defined as services that optimize therapeutic outcomes for individual patients. DTM programs if implemented effectively can greatly enhance patient care, leading to improved overall health, while at the same time decreasing overall health care system costs by reducing improper medication use, preventing adverse drug events and other undesirable outcomes and supporting achievement of therapeutic goals. The safe, effective, appropriate, and economical use of medications is the influencing goal of DTM. Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm D) reflects an evolutionary change for pharmacy students in the field of pharmacy practice to a more patient-centered focus and there is a great necessity of a Pharm D course in a country like India, where its required to achieve better drug control and compliance among patients, who are unknown to drug knowledge. The combined patient treatment by a physician and pharmacist is the ultimate and superior most way of achieving better patient compatibility.