A review of antimicrobial control strategies in hospitalized and ambulatory pediatric populations

Multinational consensus antimicrobial stewardship recommendations for children managed in hospital settings

Children are entitled to receive antibiotic therapy that is based on evidence and best practice, but might be overlooked in hospital programmes designed to achieve antimicrobial stewardship [AMS]. This failure to include children could be because children make up small proportion of patients in most hospitals, and are cared for by specialised paediatric staff. We reviewed the evidence and consulted experts in three global regions to develop ten recommendations for good-practice in hospital AMS programmes for children. We performed a review of scientific research, published between Jan 1, 2007, and Oct 17, 2019, concerning AMS, and formed a multinational expert group comprising members from the USA, Canada, the UK, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, and Aotearoa New Zealand to develop the recommendations. These recommendations aim to help health-care workers who care for children in these regions to deliver best-practice care. We surveyed health-care workers with expertise in antibiotic therapy for children across these regions, and found that the recommendations were considered both very important and generally feasible. These recommendations should be implemented in hospitals to improve antibiotic therapy for children and to stimulate research into future improvements in care.

Prevenção e controle de resistência aos antimicrobianos na Atenção Primária à Saúde: evidências para políticas

Resumo A resistência aos antimicrobianos é um problema mundial que põe em risco a segurança da saúde da população. O objetivo deste artigo é identificar e avaliar estratégias para prevenção e controle de resistência microbiana, bem como barreiras para sua implementação em serviços de Atenção Primária à Saúde (APS). Realizou-se uma síntese de evidências para políticas. As buscas de evidências foram realizadas entre novembro/dezembro de 2018, em 13 bases de dados. Um diálogo deliberativo foi realizado para validação dos resultados e levantamento de barreiras e facilitadores para implementação das estratégias. As 13 revisões sistemáticas incluídas mostraram que intervenções com foco em educação, uso de sistemas eletrônicos e biomarcadores reduziram o consumo e prescrição de antimicrobianos. É um obstáculo à implementação a expectativa de usuários/cuidadores em receber prescrição de antibióticos, e são facilitadores as ações educativas que envolvem profissionais de saúde. O uso racional de medicamentos se impõe na APS com vistas à prevenção da resistência dos microrganismos aos antibióticos. As intervenções identificadas neste estudo podem ser implementadas isoladamente ou em conjunto, conforme o contexto local.

[Prevention and control of antimicrobial stewardship: a review of evidenceGestión de las intervenciones en materia de prevención y control de la resistencia a los antimicrobianos en los hospitales: revisión de la evidencia]

Objective

To identify effective interventions to manage antimicrobial resistance in hospital settings and potential barriers to their implementation.

Method

A synthesis of evidence for health policy was performed using SUPPORT tools. Literature searches were performed in November and December 2018 in 14 databases. A face-to-face deliberative dialogue workshop to identify implementation barriers was performed with 23 participants (manager, researchers, and health care professionals) and 14 listeners divided into three groups. Researchers with experience in deliberative dialogue acted as facilitators.

Results

Twenty-seven systematic reviews focusing on antimicrobial stewardship using combined or individual strategies were identified. The interventions included education, electronic systems, use of biomarkers, and several strategies of antimicrobial management. The main barriers to the implementation of interventions, identified in the literature and deliberative dialogue workshop, were poor infrastructure and insufficient human resources, patient complaints regarding the treatment received, cultural differences within the multidisciplinary team, work overload, and lack of financing/planning.

Conclusion

Most of the strategies identified were effective for antimicrobial stewardship in hospital settings. The reliability of results may be strengthened with the performance of additional research of higher methodological quality.

Effect of provider-selected order indications on appropriateness of antimicrobial orders in a pediatric hospital

PURPOSE

The effect of mandatory provider-selected order indications (PSOIs) on appropriateness of antimicrobial ordering in a tertiary pediatric hospital was evaluated.

METHODS

Mandatory PSOIs for 14 antimicrobials were implemented in September 2013. Data on initial and final orders in the first 24 hours after ordering were collected from the electronic medical record. Orders from pre-PSOI and post-PSOI implementation were randomly selected and compared with documentation at the time of order to elicit the documentation-determined clinical indication (DDCI). Appropriateness of the order for the DDCI was evaluated and compared between groups using 2-sample t tests, chi-square tests, and logistic regression.

RESULTS

Among the total 1,304 orders included in the review, 275 (21.1%) were inappropriate based on DDCI. The indications associated with the greatest number of inappropriate orders in both groups were suspected sepsis/bacteremia, meningitis/central nervous system infection, and pneumonia. A total of 128 (18.3%) of 700 initial orders were inappropriate compared with the DDCI in the pre-PSOI period, and 82 (17.8%) of 461 initial orders were inappropriate in the post-PSOI period (p = 0.83). A total of 78 (11.1%) of 700 final orders were inappropriate in the pre-PSOI period, and 29 (6.3%) of 461 final orders were inappropriate in the post-intervention period (p = 0.01). Overall, 84 (12%) of 700 inappropriate orders reached the patient in the pre-PSOI period versus 43 (9.3%) of 461 inappropriate orders in the post-PSOI period (p = 0.15).

CONCLUSION

PSOIs were effective in reducing inappropriate antimicrobial orders in the first 24 hours after ordering if the correct indication was selected.

Prescribing pattern of higher generation antibiotics in the out-patient setting in Bhutan hospitals

Background: The emergence of antibiotic resistance is a complex problem contributed by the interplay of various parties such as prescribers, patients or health settings. In particular, prescribers play a vital role in the use of antibiotics both in rational prescribing of drugs and influencing patients on the appropriate use. Objectives: Determine the appropriateness of the higher generation antibiotics (cephalosporin and flouroquonolone groups) in the out-patient setting of Bhutan hospitals. Materials and method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three referral hospitals of Bhutan where the prescriptions were collected from the pharmacy. All prescriptions containing higher generation antibiotics were selected based on the appropriateness using a modified Medication Appropriateness Index. Three hundred thirty three prescriptions containing higher generation antibiotics were analyzed. Results: The use of antibiotics was common with 37.1% of the prescriptions containing antibiotics out of which 14% were higher generation antibiotics. When assessed on the appropriateness of the prescription, 55.9% of the prescriptions containing higher generation antibiotics were prescribed inappropriately. In addition, only 47.1% of the prescriptions had appropriate indications for higher generation antibiotics. Conclusion: There is a widespread inappropriate use of higher generation antibiotics in Bhutan.

Clinician-targeted interventions to influence antibiotic prescribing behaviour for acute respiratory infections in primary care: an overview of systematic reviews

BACKGROUND

Antibiotic resistance is a worldwide health threat. Interventions that reduce antibiotic prescribing by clinicians are expected to reduce antibiotic resistance. Disparate interventions to change antibiotic prescribing behaviour for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) have been trialled and meta-analysed, but not yet synthesised in an overview. This overview synthesises evidence from systematic reviews, rather than individual trials.

OBJECTIVES

To systematically review the existing evidence from systematic reviews on the effects of interventions aimed at influencing clinician antibiotic prescribing behaviour for ARIs in primary care.

METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Science Citation Index to June 2016. We also searched the reference lists of all included reviews. We ran a pre-publication search in May 2017 and placed additional studies in 'awaiting classification'.We included both Cochrane and non-Cochrane reviews of randomised controlled trials evaluating the effect of any clinician-focussed intervention on antibiotic prescribing behaviour in primary care. Two overview authors independently extracted data and assessed the methodological quality of included reviews using the ROBIS tool, with disagreements reached by consensus or by discussion with a third overview author. We used the GRADE system to assess the quality of evidence in included reviews. The results are presented as a narrative overview.

MAIN RESULTS

We included eight reviews in this overview: five Cochrane Reviews (33 included trials) and three non-Cochrane reviews (11 included trials). Three reviews (all Cochrane Reviews) scored low risk across all the ROBIS domains in Phase 2 and low risk of bias overall. The remaining five reviews scored high risk on Domain 4 of Phase 2 because the 'Risk of bias' assessment had not been specifically considered and discussed in the review Results and Conclusions. The trials included in the reviews varied in both size and risk of bias. Interventions were compared to usual care.Moderate-quality evidence indicated that C-reactive protein (CRP) point-of-care testing (risk ratio (RR) 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66 to 0.92, 3284 participants, 6 trials), shared decision making (odds ratio (OR) 0.44, 95% CI 0.26 to 0.75, 3274 participants, 3 trials; RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.49 to 0.84, 4623 participants, 2 trials; risk difference -18.44, 95% CI -27.24 to -9.65, 481,807 participants, 4 trials), and procalcitonin-guided management (adjusted OR 0.10, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.14, 1008 participants, 2 trials) probably reduce antibiotic prescribing in general practice. We found moderate-quality evidence that procalcitonin-guided management probably reduces antibiotic prescribing in emergency departments (adjusted OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.43, 2605 participants, 7 trials). The overall effect of these interventions was small (few achieving greater than 50% reduction in antibiotic prescribing, most about a quarter or less), but likely to be clinically important.Compared to usual care, shared decision making probably makes little or no difference to reconsultation for the same illness (RR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.03, 1860 participants, 4 trials, moderate-quality evidence), and may make little or no difference to patient satisfaction (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.30, 1110 participants, 2 trials, low-quality evidence). Similarly, CRP testing probably has little or no effect on patient satisfaction (RR 0.79, 95% CI 0.57 to 1.08, 689 participants, 2 trials, moderate-quality evidence) or reconsultation (RR 1.08, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.27, 5132 participants, 4 trials, moderate-quality evidence). Procalcitonin-guided management probably results in little or no difference in treatment failure in general practice compared to normal care (adjusted OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.24, 1008 participants, 2 trials, moderate-quality evidence), however it probably reduces treatment failure in the emergency department compared to usual care (adjusted OR 0.76, 95% CI 0.61 to 0.95, 2605 participants, 7 trials, moderate-quality evidence).The quality of evidence for interventions focused on clinician educational materials and decision support in reducing antibiotic prescribing in general practice was either low or very low (no pooled result reported) and trial results were highly heterogeneous, therefore we were unable draw conclusions about the effects of these interventions. The use of rapid viral diagnostics in emergency departments may have little or no effect on antibiotic prescribing (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.61 to 1.22, 891 participants, 3 trials, low-quality evidence) and may result in little to no difference in reconsultation (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.59 to 1.25, 200 participants, 1 trial, low-quality evidence).None of the trials in the included reviews reported on management costs for the treatment of an ARI or any associated complications.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

We found evidence that CRP testing, shared decision making, and procalcitonin-guided management reduce antibiotic prescribing for patients with ARIs in primary care. These interventions may therefore reduce overall antibiotic consumption and consequently antibiotic resistance. There do not appear to be negative effects of these interventions on the outcomes of patient satisfaction and reconsultation, although there was limited measurement of these outcomes in the trials. This should be rectified in future trials.We could gather no information about the costs of management, and this along with the paucity of measurements meant that it was difficult to weigh the benefits and costs of implementing these interventions in practice.Most of this research was undertaken in high-income countries, and it may not generalise to other settings. The quality of evidence for the interventions of educational materials and tools for patients and clinicians was either low or very low, which prevented us from drawing any conclusions. High-quality trials are needed to further investigate these interventions.

Antibiotic Use by Pediatric Residents: Identifying Opportunities and Strategies for Antimicrobial Stewardship

OBJECTIVES

To determine the antibiotic prescribing practices of pediatric residents and assess how they acquire knowledge leading to prescribing behaviors.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional electronic survey of all pediatric residents at the Children's National Medical Center and Nicklaus Children's Hospital, assessing antibiotic prescribing patterns for common pediatric infections, use of antibiograms, and factors influencing antibiotic choice.

RESULTS

Eighty-five surveys (45%) were returned complete and included in the analysis. Increased deviations from clinical guideline recommendations were observed for antibiotic treatments of sinusitis and community-acquired pneumonia as compared with otitis media and group A streptococcal pharyngitis. Only 57% of residents reported having used antibiograms. General pediatric inpatient attending physicians were identified as the most influential source for house staff antibiotic knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS

Results illustrate the need for better promotion and integration of clinical guidelines with antibiograms when developing antibiotic education programs for residents in training. In addition, pediatric hospitalists should play an active role in the implementation of these programs and can provide valuable insight into the development of educational programs in conjunction with graduate medical education divisions.

Antibiotic stewardship: does it work in hospital practice? A review of the evidence base

BACKGROUND

Guidelines for developing and implementing stewardship programmes include recommendations on appropriate antibiotic use to guide the stewardship team's choice of potential stewardship objectives. They also include recommendations on behavioural change interventions to guide the team's choice of potential interventions to ensure that professionals actually use antibiotics appropriately in daily practice.

AIMS

To summarize the evidence base of both appropriate antibiotic use recommendations (the 'what') and behavioural change interventions (the 'how') in hospital practice.

SOURCES

Published systematic reviews/Medline.

CONTENT

The literature shows low-quality evidence of the positive effects of appropriate antibiotic use in hospital patients. The literature shows that any behavioural change intervention might work to ensure that professionals actually perform appropriate antibiotic use recommendations in daily practice. Although effects were overall positive, there were large differences in improvement between studies that tested similar change interventions.

IMPLICATIONS

The literature showed a clear need for studies that apply appropriate study designs- (randomized) controlled designs-to test the effectiveness of appropriate antibiotic use on achieving meaningful outcomes. Most current studies used designs prone to confounding by indication. In the process of selecting behavioural change interventions that might work best in a chosen setting, much should be learned from behavioural sciences. The challenge for stewardship teams lies in selecting change interventions on the careful assessment of barriers and facilitators, and on a theoretical base while linking determinants to change interventions. Future studies should apply more robust designs and evaluations when assessing behavioural change interventions.

Strategies to enhance rational use of antibiotics in hospital: a guideline by the German Society for Infectious Diseases

Introduction

In the time of increasing resistance and paucity of new drug development there is a growing need for strategies to enhance rational use of antibiotics in German and Austrian hospitals. An evidence-based guideline on recommendations for implementation of antibiotic stewardship (ABS) programmes was developed by the German Society for Infectious Diseases in association with the following societies, associations and institutions: German Society of Hospital Pharmacists, German Society for Hygiene and Microbiology, Paul Ehrlich Society for Chemotherapy, The Austrian Association of Hospital Pharmacists, Austrian Society for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Austrian Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Robert Koch Institute.

Materials and methods

A structured literature research was performed in the databases EMBASE, BIOSIS, MEDLINE and The Cochrane Library from January 2006 to November 2010 with an update to April 2012 (MEDLINE and The Cochrane Library). The grading of recommendations in relation to their evidence is according to the AWMF Guidance Manual and Rules for Guideline Development.

Conclusion

The guideline provides the grounds for rational use of antibiotics in hospital to counteract antimicrobial resistance and to improve the quality of care of patients with infections by maximising clinical outcomes while minimising toxicity. Requirements for a successful implementation of ABS programmes as well as core and supplemental ABS strategies are outlined. The German version of the guideline was published by the German Association of the Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF) in December 2013.

Interventions to reduce childhood antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory infections: systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Antibiotics are overprescribed for children with upper respiratory infections (URIs), leading to unnecessary expenditures, adverse events and antibiotic resistance. This study assesses whether interventions antibiotic prescription rates (APR) for childhood URIs can be reduced and what factors impact intervention effectiveness.

METHODS

MEDLINE, Embase, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Global Health, WHO website, United States CDC website and The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were searched by December 2015. Cluster or individual-patient randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs that examined interventions to change APR for children with URIs were selected for meta-analysis. Educational interventions for clinicians and/or parents were compared with usual care.

RESULTS

Of 6074 studies identified, 13 were included. All were conducted in high-income countries. Interventions were associated with lower APR versus usual care (OR 0.63 (95% CI 0.50 to 0.81, p<0.001). A patient-clinician communication approach was the most effective type of intervention, with a pooled OR 0.41 (95% CI 0.20 to 0.83; p<0.001) for clinicians and 0.26 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91; p=0.04) for parents. Interventions that targeted clinicians and parents were significant, with a pooled OR of 0.52 (95% CI 0.35 to 0.78; p=0.002). Insignificant effects were observed for targeting clinicians and parents alone, with a pooled OR of 0.88 (95% CI 0.67 to 1.16; p=0.37) and 0.50 (95% CI 0.10 to 2.51, p=0.40), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Educational interventions are effective in reducing antibiotic prescribing for childhood URIs. Interventions targeting clinicians and parents are more effective than those for either group alone. The most effective interventions address patient-clinician communication. Studies in low-income to middle-income countries are needed.

Pediatrician perceptions of an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship intervention

OBJECTIVE

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing commonly occurs in pediatric outpatients with acute respiratory tract infections. Antimicrobial stewardship programs are recommended for use in the hospital, but less is known about whether and how they will work in the ambulatory setting. Following a successful cluster-randomized trial to improve prescribing for common acute respiratory tract infections using education plus audit and feedback in a large, pediatric primary care network, we sought to explore the perceptions of the intervention and antibiotic overuse among participating clinicians.

METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured interviews with 24 pediatricians from 6 primary care practices who participated in an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship intervention. All interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach.

RESULTS

Deep skepticism of the audit and feedback reports emerged. Respondents ignored reports or expressed distrust about them. One respondent admitted to gaming behavior. When asked about antibiotic overuse, respondents recognized it as a problem, but they believed it was driven by the behaviors of nonpediatric physicians. Parent pressure for antibiotics was identified by all respondents as a major barrier to the more judicious use of antibiotics. Respondents reported that they sometimes "caved" to parent pressure for social reasons.

CONCLUSIONS

To improve the effectiveness and sustainability of outpatient antimicrobial stewardship, it is critical to boost the credibility of audit data, engage primary care pediatricians in recognizing that their behavior contributes to antibiotic overuse, and address parent pressure to prescribe antibiotics.

The exposome for kidney stones

The exposome is the assembly and measure of all the exposures of an individual in a lifetime. An individual's exposures begin before birth and include insults from environmental and occupational sources. The associated field is called exposomics, which relies on the application of internal and external exposure assessment methods. Exposomics has not yet been thoroughly applied to the study of kidney stones although much is known about how diet and fluid intake affect nephrolithiasis. Some other novel exposures that may contribute to kidney stones are discussed including use of antibiotics, urbanization and migration to urban heat islands, and occupation. People whose school and jobs limit their access to fluids and adequate bathroom facilities may have higher prevalence of stones. Examples include athletes, teachers, heathcare workers, and cab drivers. Occupational kidney stones have received scant attention and may represent a neglected, and preventable, type of stone. An exposomic-oriented history would include a careful delineation of occupation and activities.

Antibiotics in respiratory tract infections in hospital pediatric emergency departments

BACKGROUND

Respiratory tract infections are one of the most frequent problems in pediatric clinics and generate an elevated prescription of antibiotics. The aim of this study was to find out the standard of care practice about antibiotic use in these infections in a pediatric emergency department and to evaluate compliance with clinical guidelines.

METHODS

A pediatric emergency department database was reviewed from July 2005 to October 2007 under the category "respiratory infection", including variables such as age, antibiotic prescription and compliance with current clinical recommendations.

RESULTS

Out of the 23,114 reviewed reports, 32.7% (7,567) were upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) (cold, acute otitis media [AOM], sinusitis and tonsillopharyngitis) or lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) (laryngitis, bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia). Children under the age of 2 were the most represented age group. Amongst URTI, rhinopharyngitis was the most frequent infection, while bronchitis was the most frequent among LRTI. Antibiotic therapy (mainly amoxicillin) was prescribed in 30.8% of URTI (5.7% rhinopharyngitis, 96.5% AOM, and 36.7% tonsillopharyngitis) and in 12.4% of LRTI.

CONCLUSIONS

The percentage of respiratory tract infections was similar to previous studies and the antibiotic prescriptions followed current guidelines, except for cases diagnosed with AOM. Prescription compliance and clinical course of the cases should be monitored.

Variation in antibiotic susceptibility of uropathogens by age among ambulatory pediatric patients

We compared uropathogen antibiotic susceptibility across age groups of ambulatory pediatric patients. For Escherichia coli (n=5,099) and other Gram-negative rods (n=626), significant differences (p<0.05) existed across age groups for ampicillin, cefazolin, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole susceptibility. In E. coli, differences in trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole susceptibility varied from 79% in children under 2 to 88% in ages 16-18 (p<0.001), while ampicillin susceptibility varied from 30% in children under 2 to 53% in ages 2-5 (p=0.015). Uropathogen susceptibility to common urinary anti-infectives may be lower in the youngest children. Further investigation into these differences is needed to facilitate appropriate and prudent treatment of urinary tract infections.

Reducing antibiotic prescribing for children with respiratory tract infections in primary care: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children are common and often result in antibiotic prescription despite their typically self-limiting course.

AIM

To assess the effectiveness of primary care based interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing for children with RTIs.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Systematic review.

METHOD

MEDLINE(®), Embase, CINAHL(®), PsycINFO, and the Cochrane library were searched for randomised, cluster randomised, and non-randomised studies testing educational and/or behavioural interventions to change antibiotic prescribing for children (<18 years) with RTIs. Main outcomes included change in proportion of total antibiotic prescribing or change in 'appropriate' prescribing for RTIs. Narrative analysis of included studies was used to identify components of effective interventions.

RESULTS

Of 6301 references identified through database searching, 17 studies were included. Interventions that combined parent education with clinician behaviour change decreased antibiotic prescribing rates by between 6-21%; structuring the parent-clinician interaction during the consultation may further increase the effectiveness of these interventions. Automatic computerised prescribing prompts increased prescribing appropriateness, while passive information, in the form of waiting room educational materials, yielded no benefit.

CONCLUSION

Conflicting evidence from the included studies found that interventions directed towards parents and/or clinicians can reduce rates of antibiotic prescribing. The most effective interventions target both parents and clinicians during consultations, provide automatic prescribing prompts, and promote clinician leadership in the intervention design.

Neonatal and pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs in Europe-defining the research agenda

The relationship between suboptimal use of antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance has become increasingly clear. Despite significant international effort aimed at reducing inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in hospitals, antimicrobial resistance remains a major public health threat. Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) comprise a series of measures aimed at optimizing the use of antimicrobials, while improving the quality of patient care and promoting cost-effectiveness. This discussion article aims to summarize some of the approaches that have been used in neonatal and pediatric ASPs, with a particular focus on the European healthcare setting. Current evidence demonstrates neonatal and pediatric ASPs to be safe, practical to implement, generally cost-effective and possibly associated with a reduction in antimicrobial resistance rates. This review identified that, despite the recognized need for additional evidence and information on implementation, published data on pediatric ASPs derives mainly from the United States, with very few published reports on formal ASPs in European children's hospitals. Consequently, the optimal method of implementation remains unknown within a European setting. Future research needs to include novel study designs on how best to introduce ASPs, monitoring of clinically relevant outcomes and cost-effectiveness with improved measurement of the impact on antimicrobial resistance.

Antibiotic surveillance on a paediatric intensive care unit: easy attainable strategy at low costs and resources

Background

Antibiotic surveillance is mandatory to optimise antibiotic therapy. Our objectives were to evaluate antibiotic use in our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and to implement a simple achievable intervention aimed at improving antibiotic therapy.

Method

Prospective, 3 months surveillance of antibiotic use on PICU (phase I) and evaluation according to the CDC 12-step campaign with development of an attainable intervention. 3 months surveillance (phase II) after implementation of intervention with comparison of antibiotic use.

Results

Appropriate antibiotic use for culture-negative infection-like symptoms and targeted therapy for proven infections were the main areas for potential improvement. The intervention was a mandatory checklist requiring indication and recording likelihood of infection at start of antibiotic therapy and a review of the continuing need for therapy at 48 h and 5 days, reasons for continuation and possible target pathogen. The percentage of appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy courses for culture-negative infection-like symptoms increased from 18% (10/53) to 74% (42/57; p<0.0001), duration of therapy <3 days increased from 18% (10/53) to 35% (20/57; p=0.05) and correct targeting of pathogen increased from 58% (7/12) to 83% (20/24; p=0.21).

Conclusions

Antibiotic surveillance using the CDC 12-step campaign can help to evaluate institutional antibiotic therapy. Development of an attainable intervention using a checklist can show improved antibiotic use with minimal expense.

Interventions to influence consulting and antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common in children and generally self-limiting, yet often result in consultations to primary care. Frequent consultations divert resources from care for potentially more serious conditions and increase the opportunity for antibiotic overuse. Overuse of antibiotics is associated with adverse effects and antimicrobial resistance, and has been shown to influence how patients seek care in ensuing illness episodes.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of interventions directed towards parents or caregivers which were designed to influence consulting and antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children in primary care. Main outcomes were parental consulting rate, parental knowledge, and proportion of children subsequently consuming antibiotics. Of 5,714 references, 23 studies (representing 20 interventions) met inclusion criteria. Materials designed to engage children in addition to parents were effective in modifying parental knowledge and behaviour, resulting in reductions in consulting rates ranging from 13 to 40%. Providing parents with delayed prescriptions significantly decreased reported antibiotic use (Risk Ratio (RR) 0.46 (0.40, 0.54); moreover, a delayed or no prescribing approach did not diminish parental satisfaction.

Conclusions

In order to be most effective, interventions to influence parental consulting and antibiotic use should: engage children, occur prior to an illness episode, employ delayed prescribing, and provide guidance on specific symptoms. These results support the wider implementation of interventions to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in children.

Benefits of a pediatric antimicrobial stewardship program at a children's hospital

OBJECTIVE

To prospectively evaluate the effect of a comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship program on antimicrobial use, physician interventions, patient outcomes, and rates of antimicrobial resistance.

METHODS

Active surveillance of antimicrobial use with intervention and real-time feedback to providers and reinforcement of prior authorization for selected antimicrobials were introduced at a pediatric teaching hospital. Antimicrobial-use indications were incorporated as a mandatory field in the computerized information system. An automated report of antimicrobials prescribed, doses, patient demographics, and microbiology data was generated and reviewed by an infectious-disease pharmacist and a pediatric infectious-disease physician. Antimicrobial use, expressed as the number of doses administered per 1000 patient-days, was measured 3 years before and after the implementation of the program.

RESULTS

Total antimicrobial use peaked at 3089 doses administered per 1000 patient-days per year in 2003-2004 before implementation of the program and steadily decreased to 1904 doses administered per 1000 patient-days per year during the postintervention period. Targeted-antimicrobial use declined from 1250 to 988 doses administered per 1000 patient-days per year. Nontargeted-antimicrobial use declined from 1839 to 916 doses administered per 1000 patient-days per year. Rates of antimicrobial resistance to broad-spectrum antimicrobials among the most common Gram-negative bacilli remained low and stable over time.

CONCLUSIONS

The successful implementation of antimicrobial stewardship strategies had a significant impact on reducing targeted- and nontargeted-antimicrobial use, improving quality of care of hospitalized children and preventing emergence of resistance.

The management of community-acquired pneumonia in infants and children older than 3 months of age: clinical practice guidelines by the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and the Infectious Diseases Society of America

Evidenced-based guidelines for management of infants and children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) were prepared by an expert panel comprising clinicians and investigators representing community pediatrics, public health, and the pediatric specialties of critical care, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, infectious diseases, pulmonology, and surgery. These guidelines are intended for use by primary care and subspecialty providers responsible for the management of otherwise healthy infants and children with CAP in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Site-of-care management, diagnosis, antimicrobial and adjunctive surgical therapy, and prevention are discussed. Areas that warrant future investigations are also highlighted.

Impact of antimicrobial stewardship program on vancomycin use in a pediatric teaching hospital

BACKGROUND

Increasing rates of resistant gram-positive coccal infections led to an increased use of vancomycin. We evaluated the impact of implementing an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on density of vancomycin use at a pediatric tertiary-care teaching hospital.

METHODS

An Antimicrobial Stewardship Program was implemented April 1, 2004. Indications for vancomycin use were incorporated as mandatory fields using the integrated computerized information system. An automated report of vancomycin prescriptions, doses, patient demographics, and microbiology data was reviewed by an infectious disease pharmacist Monday through Friday. Interventions were discussed with a pediatric infectious disease physician and real-time feedback provided to clinicians. Density of vancomycin use was evaluated by measuring the number of doses administered/1000 patient-days.

RESULTS

Density of vancomycin use declined overtime from 378 doses administered/1000 patient-days to 255 doses administered/1000 patient-days despite increasing rates of Staphylococcus aureus infected patients, and was not associated with increased use of other antibiotics with similar antimicrobial activity. Nonapproved vancomycin indications were selected in 28% of vancomycin doses administered. Of the 317 Antimicrobial Stewardship Program interventions performed, 190 qualified as vancomycin prescription errors, most commonly, vancomycin dosing and premature stop. After the implementation of the program, the rate of vancomycin prescription errors decreased.

CONCLUSIONS

Implementation of an integrated Antimicrobial Stewardship Program using real-time evaluation and feedback to physicians, and optimization of the clinical informatics system, reduced vancomycin utilization and vancomycin prescribing errors, improving the quality of care and safety of hospitalized children in our institution.

Antibiotic use in neonatal intensive care units and adherence with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 12 Step Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance

BACKGROUND

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 12-Step Campaign to Prevent Antimicrobial Resistance was launched to educate clinicians about antimicrobial resistance and provide strategies to improve clinical practice, including antimicrobial utilization.

METHODS

A multicenter retrospective observational study of antibiotic use was performed in 4 tertiary care NICUs to assess adherence to the guidelines defined by the CDC 12-Step Campaign using predetermined criteria. Fifty infants per NICU were identified who received intravenous antibiotics at greater than 72 hours of age. Antibiotic regimens, clinical and microbiologic data, and indications for initiation and continuation of antibiotics (after 72 hours of use) were recorded. Inappropriate utilization was characterized at initiation, continuation, by agent, and by CDC 12-Step.

RESULTS

Two hundred neonates received 323 antibiotic courses totaling 3344 antibiotic-days. Ninety (28%) courses and 806 (24%) days were judged to be nonadherent to a CDC 12-Step. Inappropriate use was more common with continuation of antibiotics (39%) than with initiation (4%) of therapy. Vancomycin was the most commonly used drug (n = 895 antibiotic-days) of which 284 (32%) days were considered inappropriate. Carbapenems were used less frequently (n = 310 antibiotic-days), and 132 (43%) of these days were inappropriate. Common reasons for nonadherence at the time of continuation included failure to narrow antibiotic coverage after microbiologic results were known and prolonged antibiotic prophylaxis after surgery with chest tube placement.

CONCLUSIONS

The CDC 12-Step Campaign can be modified for neonatal populations. Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing was common in the study NICUs. Improvement efforts should target antibiotic use 72 hours after initiation, particularly focusing on narrowing therapy and instituting protocols to limit prophylaxis.