Impact of national guidelines for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce antibiotic use in upper respiratory tract infection and gastroenteritis

Impact of education on antibiotic literacy and awareness among pharmacy students at a Japanese university: a questionnaire survey

BACKGROUND

Considering the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), Japan implemented a national action plan in 2016 that emphasized antibiotic education for healthcare professionals. However, pharmacy education in Japan lacks comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) content, leading to insufficient antibiotic awareness and literacy among graduates. This study aimed to assess and improve antibiotic literacy and awareness among undergraduate pharmacy students at Showa University.

METHODS

Students who were admitted in 2015 were given a 90-min lecture on AMS, covering acute upper respiratory infections, before their fifth-year clinical training in 2019. The lecture was delivered by a certified pharmacist in infection control. A paper-based, anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey on antibiotic knowledge and literacy was distributed to first- and fifth-year students in 2019 and fifth-year students in 2023. The questions in the survey were based on the Antibiotics Awareness Survey 2018.

RESULTS

The survey results showed an 82-99% response rate among first- and fifth-year pharmacy students in 2019 and 2023. Although two-thirds of first-year pharmacy students lacked antibiotic knowledge, most fifth-year students had appropriate knowledge. Moreover, fifth-year students had a proper understanding of bacterial infections and antibiotic identification, which improved after clinical training and additional lectures. The percentage of students who would stop using antibiotics when they felt better dropped from 39% among first-year students to 21% among fifth-year students. Fifth-year students were more likely to dispose of leftover antibiotics and less likely to keep them than first-year students. Over 80% of students provided antibiotic counseling primarily for common cold treatments during clinical training.

CONCLUSIONS

The survey results highlighted gaps in antibiotic awareness among Japanese pharmacy students and demonstrated the positive impact of education. This study emphasizes the need for an antibiotic literacy curriculum, especially for viral respiratory infections, to support efforts in curbing AMR. Moreover, policymakers should develop policies for developing and securing faculty that are knowledgeable in clinical infectious diseases across Japanese pharmacy schools.

Clinic Characteristics and Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Infections in Japan

This cross-sectional study examined clinic characteristics associated with antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in primary care in Japan.

Factors Associated with Geographical Variability of Antimicrobial Use in Japan

INTRODUCTION

Evidence regarding the factors affecting the geographical variation of antimicrobial use (AMU) is relatively scarce. This study aimed to evaluate factors potentially associated with geographical variability of AMU per day per 1000 habitants in the 47 prefectures of Japan.

METHODS

This is an observational ecological study using the Japanese national database in 2019. The outcome was the defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day by prefecture. Multivariable negative binomial regression analysis was conducted using patient- and physician-level variables.

RESULTS

The study included 605,391,054 defined daily doses of AMU in 2019 from the 47 prefectures. In the multivariable negative binomial regression analyses for the outcome of total AMU, the proportion of female individuals (adjusted rate ratio [aRR] 1.04 [1.01-1.08] per 1% increase, p = 0.021), the proportion of upper secondary graduates going to further education (aRR 1.01 [1.00-1.01] per 1% increase, p = 0.005), and the annual number of diagnoses related to upper respiratory infections (URIs) per 1000 inhabitants per day (aRR 1.21 [1.10-1.34], p < 0.001) were significantly correlated with total AMU.

CONCLUSIONS

In this ecological study, the variability of total AMU by Japanese prefecture was associated with the proportion of female individuals, education level, and the number of URI diagnoses per population. The results suggest the potential need for additional stewardship efforts to reduce unnecessary antimicrobial prescriptions for URI.

Prescribed daily-dose-based metrics of oral antibiotic use for hospitalized children in Japan

Objective

Defined daily-dose (DDD)-based metrics are frequently used to measure antibiotic consumption. However, they are unsuitable for the pediatric population because they are defined using the maintenance dose for 70-kg adults. Moreover, children have large body weight variations. We assessed the prescribed daily dose (PDD) and PDD-based metrics of oral antibiotics for children to develop an alternative to DDD-based metrics in Japan.

Design

We performed observational study using data from the Japanese administrative claims database between April 2018 and March 2019.

Methods

Of 453,001 patients (aged 1 month-15 years), 564,326 admissions to 1,159 hospitals were included. We showed the median PDD (mg/day and mg/kg/day) and PDD-based metrics for 8 antibiotics for each age category (1 month to <1 year old and 1-6, 7-12, and 13-15 years old). We also assessed the relationship between PDD-based metrics and days of therapy (DOT)-based metrics using a scatter plot and correlation.

Results

In total, 86,389 patients (19.1%) were prescribed oral antibiotics; amoxicillin, macrolides, and third-generation cephalosporins were the most common. The PDD (mg/day) for each antibiotic increased with age to 7-12 years old, when an adult dose was reached. The PDD (mg/kg/day) decreased with age to 13-15 years old, due to increasing body weight. The relationship between PDD per 1,000 patient days and DOT per 1,000 patient days differed depending on the antibiotic.

Conclusions

PDD-based metrics stratified by age could characterize antibiotic consumption, even with body-weight variations. Therefore, PDD-based metrics, in addition to DOT-based metrics, are helpful benchmarks for antibiotic use in children.

Decline in oral antimicrobial prescription in the outpatient setting after nationwide implementation of financial incentives and provider education: An interrupted time-series analysis

OBJECTIVES

To assess the impact of nationwide outpatient antimicrobial stewardship interventions in the form of financial incentives for providers and provider education when antimicrobials are deemed unnecessary for uncomplicated respiratory infections and acute diarrhea.

METHODS

We collected data from a large claims database from April 2013 through March 2020 and performed a quasi-experimental, interrupted time-series analysis. The outcome of interest was oral antimicrobial prescription rate defined as the number of monthly antimicrobial prescriptions divided by the number of outpatient visits each month. We examined the effects of financial incentive to providers (ie, targeted prescriptions for those aged ≤2 years) and provider education (ie, targeted prescriptions for those aged ≥6 years) on the overall antimicrobial prescription rates and how these interventions affected different age groups before and after their implementation.

RESULTS

In total, 21,647,080 oral antimicrobials were prescribed to 2,920,381 unique outpatients during the study period. At baseline, prescription rates for all age groups followed a downward trend throughout the study period. Immediately after the financial incentive implementation, substantial reductions in prescription rates were observed among only those aged 0-2 years (-47.5 prescriptions per 1,000 clinic visits each month; 95% confidence interval, -77.3 to -17.6; P = .003), whereas provider education immediately reduced prescription rates in all age groups uniformly. These interventions did not affect the long-term trend for any age group.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that the nationwide implementation of financial incentives and provider education had an immediate effect on the antimicrobial prescription but no long-term effect.

Factors influencing receipt of an antibiotic prescription among insured patients in Tanzania: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

There are limited data on factors influencing antibiotic prescription among insured patients. We assessed for correlates of an antibiotic prescription among insured patients.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional study.

SETTING

The study was conducted at the National Health Insurance Fund offices, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

DATA SOURCE

We captured data from the claim forms, containing inpatient and outpatient treatment information for insured patients, for the month of September 2019.

OUTCOME VARIABLE

Receipt of an antibiotic prescription.

EXPOSURE VARIABLES

Age, sex, diagnosis, prescriber qualification, health facility level, ownership and department were exposure variables. Predictors of receipt of an antibiotic prescription were determined by Poisson regression analysis.

RESULTS

Of 993 analysed patients, the mean (±SD) age was 36.3 (±23.2) years, 581 (58.5%) were females and 535 (53.9%) were adults. The prevalence of antibiotic prescription was 46.4% (95% CI 42.8% to 50.0%). Strong predictors of an antibiotic prescription were being a child (1.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.2); acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) of multiple and unspecified sites (1.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 1.4); chronic rhinitis, nasopharyngitis and pharyngitis (4.0, 95% CI 2.4 to 6.4); being attended by a clinical officer (1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.0); attending a health centre (1.5, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.0); attending a public facility (1.2, 95% CI 1.0 to 1.4) and visiting an inpatient department (2.0, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.4).

CONCLUSIONS

Among insured patients, being a child, acute URTI, being attended by a clinical officer or dental therapist, being attended by an assistant medical/dental officer, attending a health centre or a district hospital, attending a public health facility and visiting an inpatient department predicted an antibiotic prescription. Incorporation of these findings in revisions or establishment of targeted antimicrobial stewardship programmes may lead to better antibiotic prescribing practices that are critical for combating antibiotic resistance.

Experimental Implementation of NSER Mobile App for Efficient Real-Time Sharing of Prehospital Patient Information With Emergency Departments: Interrupted Time-Series Analysis

Background

With the aging society, the number of emergency transportations has been growing. Although it is important that a patient be immediately transported to an appropriate hospital for proper management, accurate diagnosis in the prehospital setting is challenging. However, at present, patient information is mainly communicated by telephone, which has a potential risk of communication errors such as mishearing. Sharing correct and detailed prehospital information with emergency departments (EDs) should facilitate optimal patient care and resource use. Therefore, the implementation of an app that provides on-site, real-time information to emergency physicians could be useful for early preparation, intervention, and effective use of medical and human resources.

Objective

In this paper, we aimed to examine whether the implementation of a mobile app for emergency medical service (EMS) would improve patient outcomes and reduce transportation time as well as communication time by phone (ie, phone-communication time).

Methods

We performed an interrupted time-series analysis (ITSA) on the data from a tertiary care hospital in Japan from July 2021 to October 2021 (8 weeks before and 8 weeks after the implementation period). We included all patients transported by EMS. Using the mobile app, EMS can send information on patient demographics, vital signs, medications, and photos of the scene to the ED. The outcome measure was inpatient mortality and transportation time, as well as phone-communication time, which was the time for EMS to negotiate with ED staffs for transport requests.

Results

During the study period, 1966 emergency transportations were made (n=1033, 53% patients during the preimplementation period and n=933, 47% patients after the implementation period). The ITSA did not reveal a significant decrease in patient mortality and transportation time before and after the implementation. However, the ITSA revealed a significant decrease in mean phone-communication time between pre- and postimplementation periods (from 216 to 171 seconds; −45 seconds; 95% CI −71 to −18 seconds). From the pre- to postimplementation period, the mean transportation time from EMS request to ED arrival decreased by 0.29 minutes (from 36.1 minutes to 35.9 minutes; 95% CI −2.20 to 1.60 minutes), without change in time trends. We also introduced cases where the app allowed EMS to share accurate and detailed prehospital information with the emergency department, resulting in timely intervention and reducing the burden on the ED.

Conclusions

The implementation of a mobile app for EMS was associated with reduced phone-communication time by 45 seconds (22%) without increasing mortality or overall transportation time despite the implementation of new methods in the real clinical setting. In addition, real-time patient information sharing, such as the transfer of monitor images and photos of the accident site, could facilitate optimal patient care and resource use.

Survey of potentially inappropriate prescriptions for common cold symptoms in Japan: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Common cold is among the main reasons patients visit a medical facility. However, few studies have investigated whether prescriptions for common cold in Japan comply with domestic and international evidence.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether prescriptions for common cold complied with domestic and international evidence.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted between October 22, 2020, and January 16, 2021. Patients with cold symptoms who visited the two dispensing pharmacies and met the eligibility criteria were interviewed.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

The pharmacists at each store and a physician classified the patients into two groups: the potentially inappropriate prescribing group and the appropriate prescribing group.

RESULTS

Of the 150 selected patients, 14 were excluded and 136 were included in the analysis. Males accounted for 44.9% of the total study population, and the median patient age was 34 years (interquartile range [IQR], 27-42). The prevalence rates of potentially inappropriate prescriptions and appropriate prescriptions were 89.0% and 11.0%, respectively and the median drug costs were 602.0 yen (IQR, 479.7-839.2) [$5.2 (IQR, 4.2-7.3)] and 406.7 yen (IQR, 194.5-537.2) [$3.5 (IQR, 1.7-4.7)], respectively. The most common potentially inappropriate prescriptions were the prescription of oral cephem antibacterial agents to patients who did not have symptoms of bacterial infections (50.4%) and β2 stimulants to those who did not have respiratory symptoms due to underlying disease or history (33.9%).

CONCLUSIONS

Approximately 90% of prescriptions for common cold symptoms in the area were potentially inappropriate. Our findings could contribute to the monitoring of the use of medicines for the treatment of common cold symptoms.

Trends and patterns in antibiotic prescribing for adult outpatients with acute upper respiratory tract infection in Japan, 2008-2018

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to characterize the patterns and trends in the use of major oral antibiotics prescribed for adult outpatients diagnosed with acute upper respiratory tract infections (AURTIs) in Japan between 2008 and 2018.

METHODS

We analyzed administrative claims data for adults in Japan, between April 2008 and September 2018. The trends in oral antibiotic prescription were illustrated using the prescribing rate, and tested using interrupted time series analysis. We also assessed the factors associated with antibiotic prescription for AURTIs.

RESULTS

Data on 7.54 million antibiotic prescriptions in 1,937,379 adults with AURTIs were analyzed; people ≥65-years old were scarcely included. The antibiotic prescribing rate declined from 49.9% in 2008 to 39.0% in 2018, and the rate of decrease accelerated after the national action plan on antimicrobial resistance was launched in April 2016. Acute nasopharyngitis was the most common indication. Cephalosporins (35.2%), macrolides (32.2%), fluoroquinolones (24.6%), and penicillins (5.88%) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic classes. Sex, age, type and specialty of the facility, and season affected the likelihood of being prescribed antibiotics. The majority of antibiotics prescribed were broad-spectrum, but use of penicillins showed a higher rate of increase after 2016.

CONCLUSIONS

The percentage of antibiotic prescriptions for AURTIs decreased significantly after implementing the action plan, indicating that it was effective to some extent. However, since the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics was high, there is scope for improving the prescribing pattern, including the types of antimicrobial agents; this is considered to be a future issue.

Multifaceted intervention for improving antimicrobial prescription at discharge in the emergency department

The frequent prescription of antimicrobials, such as at discharge from the emergency department, calls for optimizing this practice through modifying physicians' prescribing behavior. A 1-year, multifaceted intervention implemented in an emergency department decreased the mean monthly antimicrobial prescription rate at discharge and increased the proportion of appropriate prescriptions.