Antibiotic resistance and therapeutic management of sepsis in a Malaysian public Hospital

This study aims to document the microbial profile and pattern of use of antibiotics in the government hospital of Penang state, Malaysia. An audit was conducted in 2007 in the general medical ward of Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The mortality rate was 54.22% with severesepsis or septicaemia. Mithicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus caused 37% of deaths, while 33% of deaths involved Klebsiella Spp. Commonly prescribed antibiotics included; cloxacillin 500mg (qid) 20%, tazocin 2gm (bid)1.1%, and vancomycin 1gm (od) 27%. We report the useof high doses of antibiotics in the six months prior to anotable rise in resistant infections.