[Adequacy of antifungal agents in a teaching hospital: too many inappropriate prescriptions despite training].

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to assess adequacy and conformity of systemic antifungal drugs prescriptions in comparison with local, French, European and international recent guidelines in the Grenoble Teaching Hospital.

METHODS

Each prescription of itraconazole, liposomal amphotericin B, voriconazole, caspofungin, micafungin, posaconazole and anidulafungin made between February and October 2010 were reviewed by an infectious diseases specialist. Fluconazole prescriptions' were reviewed only for 15 days.

RESULTS

Two hundred and eight patients received 295 systemic antifungal prescriptions. Most of them had at least one risk factor and immunodeficiency was one of the most common. Antifungal treatment starting, molecules choice, administrations conformity (dosage, administration way) were appropriate in 126 cases on 208 (60.5 %) at the treatment beginning evaluation and in 171 cases on 295 (58 %) at the treatment ending evaluation. Antifungal combinations (9.4 %) were less frequent than in the study carried out in Grenoble teaching hospital in 2007 (16.3 %). Most common non-conformities encountered were use of caspofungin instead of fluconazole, antifungal combinations prescription, administration modalities misguiding. The economy that could have been generated by appropriate prescriptions represented 18 % of the antifungal budget of 2010 in the Grenoble Teaching Hospital.

CONCLUSION

An improvement was highlighted in the antifungal prescriptions in comparison to the previous study led in 2007 in the Universitary Grenoble Hospital. However, the antifungal use was not optimal and further training is planned.