The Impact of National Activities on Antibiotic Consumption in Hospitals and Different Departments over a 14-Year Period

The aim of this study was to assess the use of antibiotics in hospitals and different departments over 14 years (2006-2019) and the impact of various national activities related to this, including national audits of the use of antibiotics for systemic use. The consumption of antibiotics for systemic use (J01) from all Slovenian hospitals (n = 29) and five departments (internal medicine, surgery, ICU (medicine, surgery), paediatrics and gynaecology/obstetrics) was collected. Total hospital consumption was expressed as the number of defined daily doses (DDDs) per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID), the number of DDDs/100 bed days and the number of DDDs/100 admissions. Over 14 years, J01 hospital consumption increased by 13.8%, expressed in DDDs/100 bed days (p = 0.002). In 2019, compared to 2006, the consumption of J01, expressed in DDD/100 bed days, increased from 19.9% to 33.1% in all departments, except intensive care units. J01 consumption expressed in DDD/100 admissions increased by 7.0% to 39.4% in all but paediatric wards (where it decreased by 12.7%). In all years, we observed large variations in the consumption of antibiotics in departments of the same type. The effectiveness of audit interventions aimed at optimizing antibiotic consumption exhibited notable variation across hospitals, with specialized facilities generally demonstrating superior outcomes compared to general hospitals.

The Impact of Resistant Bacterial Pathogens including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia on Lung Transplant Outcomes

Pseudomonas and Burkholderia are gram-negative organisms that achieve colonization within the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis, and are associated with accelerated pulmonary function decline. Multidrug resistance is a hallmark of these organisms, which makes eradication efforts difficult. Furthermore, the literature has outlined increased morbidity and mortality for lung transplant (LTx) recipients infected with these bacterial genera. Indeed, many treatment centers have considered Burkholderia cepacia infection an absolute contraindication to LTx. Ongoing research has delineated different species within the B. cepacia complex (BCC), with significantly varied morbidity and survival profiles. This review considers the current evidence for LTx outcomes between the different subspecies encompassed within these genera as well as prophylactic and management options. The availability of meta-genomic tools will make differentiation between species within these groups easier in the future, and will allow more evidence-based decisions to be made regarding suitability of candidates colonized with these resistant bacteria for LTx. This review suggests that based on the current evidence, not all species of BCC should be considered contraindications to LTx, going forward.

Impact of changes in the WHO's 2019 update of DDDs on the measurement of adult hospital antibacterial consumption in Catalonia (Spain), 2008-18

Objectives

In 2019 the WHO fully adopted new DDD values. The objective of this study is to analyse their impact on the measurement of consumption of antibacterials in hospitals participating in the Catalan Infection Control and Antimicrobial Stewardship National Program (VINCat-PROA) in Catalonia (Spain) between 2008 and 2018.

Methods

The anatomical therapeutic chemical/DDD system was used to monitor adult hospital antibacterial consumption expressed in DDD/100 bed-days. Consumption from 2008 to 2018 was calculated using both pre- and post-update DDD values. Differences were calculated as the percentage variation in DDD/100 bed-days and analysed with Student’s t-test. Simple linear regressions were performed to evaluate the trends in adult antimicrobial consumption over the study period.

Results

The overall consumption according to post-update DDD values decreased by 12.2% (P < 0.001) compared with the pre-update DDD values. Penicillins (−19.6.%; P < 0.001) and carbapenems (−19.0%; P = 0.023) showed the greatest reduction, followed by cephalosporins (−7.7%; P = 0.021) and quinolone antibacterials (−7.7%; P = 0.017). ICU services showed the greatest overall reduction (−13.1%; P < 0.001). From 2008 to 2018 there was a statistically significant decrease in consumption of penicillins and quinolone antibacterials and a statistically significant increase in cephalosporin and carbapenem consumption with both pre- and post-update DDD values. There were no variations in the ranking of consumption between the pre- and post-update DDD values.

Conclusions

The WHO’s updates of DDDs have had a significant impact on the measurement of antibacterial consumption. In our region, they have corrected an overestimation of penicillin and carbapenem consumption amounting to 19%. It is essential to bear these findings in mind for an accurate assessment of temporal trends and benchmarking.

How to measure quantitative antibiotic use in order to support antimicrobial stewardship in acute care hospitals: a retrospective observational study

A cornerstone of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) is monitoring quantitative antibiotic use. Frequently used metrics are defined daily dose (DDD) and days of therapy (DOT). The purpose of this study was (1) to explore for the hospital setting the possibilities of quantitative data retrieval on the level of medical specialty and (2) to describe factors affecting the usability and interpretation of these quantitative metrics. We performed a retrospective observational study, measuring overall systemic antibiotic use at specialty level over a 1-year period, from December 1st 2014 to December 1st 2015, in one university and 13 non-university hospitals in the Netherlands. We distinguished surgical and non-surgical adult specialties. The association between DDDs, calculated from aggregated dispensing data, and DOTs, calculated from patient-level prescription data, was explored descriptively and related to organizational factors, data sources (prescription versus dispensing data), data registration, and data extraction. Twelve hospitals were able to extract dispensing data (DDD), three of which on the level of medical specialty; 13 hospitals were able to extract prescription data (DOT), 11 of which by medical specialty. A large variation in quantitative antibiotic use was found between hospitals and the correlation between DDDs and DOTs at specialty level was low. Differences between hospitals related to organizational factors, data sources, data registration, and data extraction procedures likely contributed to the variation in quantitative use and the low correlation between DDDs and DOTs. The differences in healthcare organization, data sources, data registration, and data extraction procedures contributed to the variation in reported quantitative use between hospitals. Uniform registration and extraction procedures are necessary for appropriate measurement and interpretation and benchmarking of quantitative antibiotic use.

Consumption of antibiotics in Chinese public general tertiary hospitals (2011-2014): Trends, pattern changes and regional differences

Background

China has a high rate of antibiotic use. The Chinese Ministry of Health (MOH) established the Center for Antibacterial Surveillance (CAS) to monitor the use of antibacterial agents in hospitals in 2005. The purpose of this study was to identify trends, pattern changes and regional differences in antibiotic consumption in 151 public general tertiary hospitals across China from 2011–2014.

Materials and methods

Valid data for antibiotic use were collected quarterly, and the antibiotic consumption data were expressed as the defined daily dose (DDD) per 100 inpatient days (ID). We compared the patterns of antibiotic use in different classes and geographical clusters.

Results

Total antibiotic use significantly decreased (P = 0.018) from 75.86 DDD/100 ID in 2011 to 47.03 DDD/100 ID in 2014. The total consumption of flomoxef sodium and cefminox increased from 1.31 DDD/100 BD in 2011 to 8.6 DDD/100 BD in 2014. Cephalosporins were the most frequently used antibiotics in all regions. Third-generation cephalosporins accounted for more than 45% of the cephalosporins used. Carbapenem use substantially increased (P = 0.043). Penicillin combinations with inhibitors accounted for 50% of the penicillin used, and prescribed meropenem accounted for most of the carbapenems used in all regions in 2014. The subclasses in each antibiotic group were used differently between the seven regions, and the total hospital antibiotic use in 2014 differed significantly by region (P = 0.014).

Conclusion

Although the volume and intensity of total antibiotic use decreased, the antibiotic use patterns were not optimal, and broad-spectrum antibiotics were still the main classes. The aggregate data obtained during the study period reveal similar antibiotic consumption patterns in different regions. These findings provide useful information for improving the rational use of antibiotics. More detailed data on antibiotics linked to inpatient diseases need to be collected in future studies.

Surveillance of antimicrobial use in Dutch long-term care facilities

Objectives

: Residents living in a long-term care facility (LTCF) are more susceptible to infections. Treatment with antimicrobials is sometimes necessary; however, antibiotic use is considered one of the most important drivers of the development of antibiotic resistance. Surveillance data on antibiotic use in these LTCFs are necessary to get more insight into these patterns. The objective of this study was to describe antibiotic use in LTCFs in the Netherlands.

Methods

: One hundred and seventy-seven LTCFs in the Netherlands were contacted and asked to participate in a study concerning antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use. Associated pharmacies were asked to provide data about systemic antibiotic use for each participating LTCF location over 1 year. Results on antibiotic use are reported here.

Results

: Antibiotic use data from 96 LTCFs were collected from the pharmacies, and 68 of these LTCFs completed additional questionnaires on general characteristics of their location. Mean total use of systemic antimicrobials was 73 DDDs/1000 residents per day (range 2-197 DDDs/1000 residents per day). Co-amoxiclav (23 DDDs/1000 residents/day, range 0-70) was used the most, followed by nitrofurantoin derivatives (12 DDDs/1000 residents/day, range 0-38) and fluoroquinolones (12 DDDs/1000 residents/day, range 0-52). Statistical analysis revealed no significant correlations between the LTCF characteristics and the level of antibiotic use.

Conclusions

There was a high use of broad-spectrum antimicrobials, with a large variation in total antibiotic use between individual locations. Further analysis of more in-depth data and possible influencing factors is needed.

Extensive antibiotic prescription rate among hospitalized patients in Uganda: but with frequent missed-dose days

Objectives

To describe the patterns of systemic antibiotic use and missed-dose days and detail the prescription, dispensing and administration of frequently used hospital-initiated antibiotics among Ugandan inpatients.

Methods

This was a prospective cohort of consented adult inpatients admitted on the medical and gynaecological wards of the 1790 bed Mulago National Referral Hospital.

Results

Overall, 79% (603/762; 95% CI: 76%–82%) of inpatients received at least one antibiotic during hospitalization while 39% (300/762; 95% CI: 36%–43%) had used at least one antibiotic in the 4 weeks pre-admission; 1985 antibiotic DDDs, half administered parenterally, were consumed in 3741 inpatient-days. Two-fifths of inpatients who received at least one of the five frequently used hospital-initiated antibiotics (ceftriaxone, metronidazole, ciprofloxacin, amoxicillin and azithromycin) missed at least one antibiotic dose-day (44%, 243/558). The per-day risk of missed antibiotic administration was greatest on day 1: ceftriaxone (36%, 143/398), metronidazole (27%, 67/245), ciprofloxacin (34%, 39/114) and all inpatients who missed at least one dose-day of prescribed amoxicillin and azithromycin. Most patients received fewer doses than were prescribed: ceftriaxone (74%, 273/371), ciprofloxacin (90%, 94/105) and metronidazole (97%, 222/230). Of prescribed doses, only 62% of ceftriaxone doses (1178/1895), 35% of ciprofloxacin doses (396/1130) and 27% of metronidazole doses (1043/3862) were administered. Seven percent (13/188) of patients on intravenous metronidazole and 6% (5/87) on intravenous ciprofloxacin switched to oral route.

Conclusions

High rates of antibiotic use both pre-admission and during hospitalization were observed, with low parenteral/oral switch of hospital-initiated antibiotics. Underadministration of prescribed antibiotics was common, especially on the day of prescription, risking loss of efficacy and antibiotic resistance.

Longitudinal trends and cross-sectional analysis of English national hospital antibacterial use over 5 years (2008-13): working towards hospital prescribing quality measures

OBJECTIVES

There is global concern that antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to healthcare. Antimicrobial use is a primary driver of resistance but little information exists about the variation in antimicrobial use in individual hospitals in England over time or comparative use between hospitals. The objective of this study was to collate, analyse and report issue data from pharmacy records of 158 National Health Service (NHS) acute hospitals.

METHODS

This was a cohort study of inpatient antibacterial use in acute hospitals in England analysed over 5 years through a data warehouse from IMS Health, a leading provider of information, services and technology for the healthcare industry. Around 98% of NHS hospitals were included in a country with a population of 50 million residents.

RESULTS

There was a dramatic change in the usage of different groups of antibacterials between 2009 and 2013 with a marked reduction in the use of first-generation cephalosporins by 24.7% and second-generation cephalosporins by 41%, but little change in the use of third-generation cephalosporins (+5.7%) and fluoroquinolones (+1.6%). In contrast, use of co-amoxiclav, carbapenems and piperacillin/tazobactam increased by 60.1%, 61.4% and 94.8%, respectively. There was wide variation in the total and relative amounts of antibacterials used between individual hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

Longitudinal analysis of antibacterial use demonstrated remarkable changes in NHS hospitals, probably reflecting governmental and professional guidance to mitigate the risk of Clostridium difficile infection. The wide variation in usage between individual hospitals suggests potential for quality improvement and benchmarking. Quality measures of optimal hospital antimicrobial prescribing need urgent development and validation to support antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: Appropriate Measures and Metrics to Study their Impact

Antimicrobial stewardship is a new field that struggles to find the right balance between meaningful and useful metrics to study the impact of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). ASP metrics primarily measure antimicrobial use, although microbiological resistance and clinical outcomes are also important measures of the impact an ASP has on a hospital and its patient population. Antimicrobial measures looking at consumption are the most commonly used measures, and are focused on defined daily doses, days of therapy, and costs, usually standardized per 1,000 patient-days. Each measure provides slightly different information, with their own upsides and downfalls. Point prevalence measurement of antimicrobial use is an increasingly used approach to understanding consumption that does not entirely rely on sophisticated electronic information systems, and is also replicable. Appropriateness measures hold appeal and promise, but have not been developed to the degree that makes them useful and widely applicable. The primary reason why antimicrobial stewardship is necessary is the growth of antimicrobial resistance. Accordingly, antimicrobial resistance is an important metric of the impact of an ASP. The most common approach to measuring resistance for ASP purposes is to report rates of common or important community- or nosocomial-acquired antimicrobial-resistant organisms, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile. Such an approach is dependent on detection methods, community rates of resistance, and co-interventions, and therefore may not be the most accurate or reflective measure of antimicrobial stewardship interventions. Development of an index to reflect the net burden of resistance holds theoretical promise, but has yet to be realized. Finally, programs must consider patient outcome measures. Mortality is the most objective and reliable method, but has several drawbacks. Disease- or organism-specific mortality, or cure, are increasingly used metrics.

A pilot study of risk adjustment for benchmarking antibiotic use between hospitals in Sweden

There is no established standard for comparing overall antibiotic use between hospitals taking patient characteristics into account. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is a correlation between surrogate markers for patient morbidity, namely case mix index (CMI), mean length of hospital stay (LoS) and mean cost per admission, and antibiotic use in a sample of Swedish hospitals. All primary and secondary hospitals in three counties with high and three counties with low consumption of antibiotics were selected. Data from 16 hospitals were included. A regression analysis was used to evaluate whether there was a linear trend between defined daily doses (DDD) of antibiotics per 100 bed-days and the surrogate markers for morbidity. No correlation could be found between any of the measures of morbidity and total antibiotic consumption. However, a correlation was found between CMI and the proportion of narrow-spectrum antibiotics: the higher the CMI, the lower the proportional use of β-lactamase-sensitive penicillins. In conclusion, it was found that CMI, mean LoS and mean cost per admission did not appears to be useful factors to adjust for when comparing antibiotic use in this subset of primary and secondary care hospitals. Based on this limited study, we suggest that DDD/100 bed-days can still be used as an appropriate metric to benchmark antibiotic use in primary and secondary hospitals until a better marker for variation of patients and activities is identified.

A systematic review and meta-analyses show that carbapenem use and medical devices are the leading risk factors for carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa

A systematic review and meta-analyses were performed to identify the risk factors associated with carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and to identify sources and reservoirs for the pathogen. A systematic search of PubMed and Embase databases from 1 January 1987 until 27 January 2012 identified 1,662 articles, 53 of which were included in a systematic review and 38 in a random-effects meta-analysis study. The use of carbapenem, use of fluoroquinolones, use of vancomycin, use of other antibiotics, having medical devices, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, having underlying diseases, patient characteristics, and length of hospital stay were significant risk factors in multivariate analyses. The meta-analyses showed that carbapenem use (odds ratio [OR] = 7.09; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 5.43 to 9.25) and medical devices (OR = 5.11; 95% CI = 3.55 to 7.37) generated the highest pooled estimates. Cumulative meta-analyses showed that the pooled estimate of carbapenem use was stable and that the pooled estimate of the risk factor "having medical devices" increased with time. We conclude that our results highlight the importance of antibiotic stewardship and the thoughtful use of medical devices in helping prevent outbreaks of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa.

[Surveillance of antibiotic consumption : clarification of the "definition of data on the nature and extent of antibiotic consumption in hospitals according to § 23 paragraph 4 sentence 2 of the IfSG"]

According to § 23 paragraph 4 of the German Infection Prevention Act (IfSG; July 2011), hospitals and clinics for ambulatory surgery are obliged to establish a continuous monitoring system of antibiotic consumption. This is aimed at contributing to an optimization of antibiotic prescription practices in order to confine the development and spread of resistant pathogens. The general requirements (restricted to hospitals) on the method and extent of data collection are provided by the national public health institution after discussion with representatives of various professional societies (Robert Koch-Institut, Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz 59, 2013). The article aims to clarify these specifications and to provide background details. In agreement with national and European surveillance systems, the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC)/Defined Daily Dose (DDD) classification system recommended by the WHO should be used as reference standard. Antibiotic consumption should be expressed as the number of DDDs per 100 patient days and per 100 admissions. The categories of antimicrobials and hospital organizational units to be monitored and the time intervals in which analyses should be conducted are determined. Furthermore, various approaches of data assessment are described.

Selection of hospital antimicrobial prescribing quality indicators: a consensus among German antibiotic stewardship (ABS) networkers

PURPOSE

Simple, valid, and evidence-based indicators to measure the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in acute-care hospitals are urgently needed and increasingly requested by policymakers. The aim of this study was to develop new consensus quality indicators (QIs) for hospital antibiotic stewardship (ABS) and infection management which will be further evaluated for internal quality management and external quality assessment in Germany.

METHODS

Based on an extensive literature review, the Austrian-German hospital ABS Guideline Committee and selected members of the German ABS Expert Network discussed and drafted a list of 99 potential indicators for hospitals that reflect structural prerequisites for ABS (35 items), ABS core activities (18 items), additional ABS measures (5 items), and process of care indicators (both generic and disease-specific-12 and 29 items, respectively). Questionnaires were mailed to German ABS experts and healthcare professionals with further education in ABS. Participants scored (on a nine-point Likert scale) relevance (clinical, ecological/resistance, economical/expenses) and presumed practicability (six categories: clarity of definition, effort to collect data, barrier to implementation, verifiability, suitability for external quality assessment, quality gap), taking into account their local work environment. The scores were processed according to the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method, and QIs were judged relevant if the median (clinical + ecological and/or economical) scores were >6. The indicators thus assessed to be potentially relevant were then filtered according to their practicability. Highly relevant QIs with borderline practicability scores and items with disagreements and overlapping areas were re-discussed in a final multidisciplinary panel consensus workshop convened in November 2012.

RESULTS

Of the 340 questionnaires that were mailed, 75 questionnaires were completed and returned. Of 99 initially proposed items, 32 were excluded due to insufficient scores. Of the remaining 67 items, 21 structural and 21 process of care QIs were finally selected, including four QIs with high clinical and ecological but limited economical relevance, and three QIs with high clinical and economical but limited ecological relevance. Among the selected QIs, efforts to collect data and implementation barriers were scored as suboptimal in many cases.

CONCLUSIONS

A catalog of consensus structural and process of care ABS-QIs was established. These should undergo further pilot and feasibility studies in the German hospital healthcare sector. The panelists were most critical regarding resource use/complexity issues and presumed implementation barriers. How this may limit applicability of QIs remains to be determined.