Abstract

IMPACT OF CLINICAL PHARMACIST-LED COUNSELLING IN OPTIMISING ANTIBIOTIC USE AND ENHANCING QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTION

Afra Fathima C. P., Mohmed Fahad Gubbi, Mustaq Ahmed, Alan Reji Thomas, Dhanya T. Bappanad, Viresh K. Chandur*

ABSTRACT

Urinary tract infection is a major global disease burden that drives antibiotic overuse and antimicrobial resistance, and clinical pharmacist interventions offer a strategic avenue for optimising antimicrobial therapy and clinical recovery. This study aimed to assess the impact of clinical pharmacist led counselling and patient information leaflets on antibiotic use, symptom relief, and quality of life in hospitalised patients with urinary tract infection. A prospective study was carried out over six months at a tertiary care teaching hospital in India, in which hospitalised adults diagnosed with urinary tract infection were enrolled. Validated symptom and quality of life questionnaires were administered before and after the intervention, and structured counselling with validated leaflets was delivered by clinical pharmacists. The baseline demographic was predominantly elderly, aged sixty years or above in 70.6 percent of cases, and female in 68.1 percent, with 84.9 percent from low income groups. Escherichia coli was the chief organism isolated, in 43.7 percent of cases, and broad spectrum combinations, chiefly piperacillin tazobactam and meropenem, dominated prescriptions in 73.9 percent of cases. Marked baseline deficits in physical and functional domains were noted against population standards. Following intervention, total symptom scores dropped from 14.1 plus or minus 1.66 to 6.3 plus or minus 2.31, a 55 percent net improvement, with the largest gain a 68 percent reduction in painful urination severity. Structured pharmacist led counselling with objective educational tools reduces symptoms and improves short term quality of life, offering an effective mechanism for reinforcing public health interventions and institutional patient care.

Keywords: Urinary Tract Infection; Antibiotic Optimisation; Patient Information Leaflet; Quality of Life Assessment; Symptom Assessment Tool.