The aim of the study was to analyze the treatment with gentamicin and possible nephrotoxicity of this antibiotic in patients treated in surgical and internal medicine departments of Kaunas University of Medicine Hospital.
Materials and methods: A total of 105 case histories obtained from archive of our hospital were analyzed: 59 case records from surgical and 46 from internal medicine departments. Data were collected regarding indications for the administration of gentamicin, its dosage, duration of treatment, and patients' renal function at the beginning and during the treatment.
Results: There were more than 30% of patients older than 65 years. Gentamicin was administered in 14 (23.73%) surgical inpatients to prevent postoperative infection; 45 (76.27%) surgical and 46 (100%) internal medicine inpatients received gentamicin because of symptoms of infection. Half of the patients were treated empirically. In 87.62% of cases, gentamicin was administered at a dose of 240 mg; all 105 patients received it once per day. Before treatment, renal function was not evaluated in 11.86% of surgical and in 19.56% of internal medicine inpatients, and during treatment, it was examined only in one-third of patients. The duration of the treatment was 5.932+/-2.392 days (range 2-13 days) in surgical and 8.283+/-3.344 days (range 3-19 days) in internal medicine inpatients.
Conclusions: More than half of patients received empirical treatment with gentamicin. Not enough attention has been paid to the evaluation of renal function before and during treatment. The duration of treatment was too long.