Impact of a Pharmacist-Led Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on the Number of Days of Antimicrobial Therapy for Uncomplicated Gram-Negative Bacteremia in a Community Hospital

The Role of Clinical Pharmacists in Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs): A Systematic Review

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat, increasing deaths and healthcare costs. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been implemented to optimize antibiotic use and curb resistance. This systematic review aimed to summarize evidence on the role and impact of pharmacists in hospital ASPs. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across databases to identify relevant studies published from 2016 to 2023. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising global observational and randomized clinical trials. Pharmacists performed various stewardship activities, including prospective audits, formulary management, de-escalation, guideline development, and education. Pharmacist-led interventions significantly improved antibiotic prescribing, reduced unnecessary antibiotic use, optimized therapy, and enhanced outcomes. Multiple studies found that pharmacist reviews decreased the time to optimal antibiotics and improved guideline compliance without affecting readmissions or revisits. De-escalation programs safely reduced antibiotic duration and length of stay. Acceptance rates for recommendations were high. Pharmacist stewardship curbed overall antibiotic use, costs, and duration across hospital departments, leading to savings. While most studies showed positive impacts, fewer detected significant changes in resistance or mortality over short periods. More research is needed, but current evidence demonstrates that pharmacists play critical roles in ASPs, leading to improved antibiotic use and patient outcomes. These findings support integrating pharmacists into stewardship activities, significantly extending programs to ambulatory settings.

The Impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Treating Patients with Escherichia coli Bacteremia in a Small Single Center Community Hospital

Purpose: There are many challenges that pharmacist led antimicrobial stewardship programs can encounter including lack of resources, costs, and inaccurate antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) results. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased resistance especially with gram negative infections. At a small single center community hospital, gram negative infections, particularly Escherichia coli infections, predominately occur. Therefore, this study aims to address gram negative bacteremia burden and its impact on antimicrobial stewardship efforts for combatting Escherichia coli and ESBL organisms with such barriers during the pandemic. Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, patients ≥ 18 years of age from a small community hospital were reviewed. Patients were excluded if their blood cultures were not positive for Escherichia coli and if antibiotics were not initiated during hospital stay. The primary endpoint was to determine the length of hospital stay. Critical secondary endpoints include antibiotic de-escalations, duration of antibiotics, time to definitive antibiotic therapy, serum procalcitonin levels, blood culture availabilities, MIC breakpoints, co-infection of COVID-19, and Clostridioides difficile occurrences. Results: Out of 74 patients with gram negative bacteremia, 41 patients specifically had Escherichia coli bacteremia. The primary endpoint results showed that patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia that stayed in the ICU had a length of stay of 13.6 days. Patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia in the Non-ICU setting has a length of stay of 7.3 days, and patients with ESBL bacteremia in the Non-ICU setting had a length of stay of 6.8 days. Conclusions: Despite the various challenges that antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) face in a single center small community hospital, the ASP at this small community hospital utilizes various policies and tools to increase appropriate antibiotic use and decrease hospital length of stay in patients with Escherichia coli bacteremia.

Impact of antimicrobial stewardship interventions on days of therapy and guideline adherence: A comparative point-prevalence survey assessment

Background

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is a crucial tool for rationalizing the use of antimicrobial agents and reducing the burden of antimicrobial resistance. We aimed to assess the impact of AMS interventions on antimicrobial utilization and adherence to antimicrobial guidelines.

Methods

We conducted a prospective quasi-experimental study at a major tertiary hospital in the United Arab Emirates. Using standardized World Health Organization’s methodology, point-prevalence surveys (PPS) were performed in November 2019 and January 2022. Core AMS interventions consisted of proactive bloodstream infection service, proactive and reactive infectious diseases consult service, prospective audit and feedback by clinical pharmacists, development of antimicrobial guidelines based on cumulative antibiograms, and implementation of induction programs for new clinical staff. Days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient days present and rate of compliance with antimicrobial guidelines were compared before and after the core interventions. Multiple logistic regression analysis was carried out to adjust for the potential confounding effects of age, gender, hospitalization within 90 days, central or peripheral line insertion, urinary catheterization, and mechanical ventilation. P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

Pre- and post-intervention PPSs included 292 and 370 patients, respectively. Both had similar age and gender distribution. Patients receiving antimicrobials were 51% (149/292) in 2019 and 45% (166/370) in 2022 (p 0.12). Univariate analysis showed a reduced post-intervention DOT per 1000 patients present (6.1 +/- 16.2 vs 2.4 +/-5.1, p<0.01) and an improved post-intervention guideline compliance (59% vs 67%, p 0.23). Following multiple logistic regression, the reduction in post-intervention DOT remained statistically significant (co-efficient -0.17 (95% CI -8.58 to -1.94, p<0.01), and the improvement in guideline adherence became statistically significant (adjusted odds ratio 1.91 (95% CI 1.05 to 3.45, p 0.03).

Conclusion

Coordinated and sustained AMS interventions have a significant impact on improving antimicrobial utilisation and adherence to guidelines.

The role of the clinical pharmacist in antimicrobial stewardship in Asia: A review

Clinical pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been successfully implemented. Although relevant guidance and several studies suggest that clinical pharmacists be integrated into the current ASP team model, barriers still exist in Asia, primarily due to lack of dedicated personnel and lack of career advancement. We review the effectiveness and the ideal role of clinical pharmacist among ASPs in Asia. Several studies conducted in Asia have shown the effectiveness of pharmacist-led ASP interventions in hospitals and other healthcare settings. However, opportunities to expand the role of clinical pharmacists in ASPs in Asia exist in the implementation of rapid diagnostic test and drug allergies.

Pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship programme in a small hospital without infectious diseases physicians

Pharmacists may be tasked to lead antibiotic stewardship programmes (ASP) implementation in small hospitals in absence of infectious diseases (ID) physicians. The objectives are to evaluate the effectiveness of a pharmacist-led ASP in a hospital without ID physician support, with special focus on indicators of the hospital use of antimicrobial agents based on consumption and asess the potential clinical and economic impact of pharmacist interventions (PIs) through the CLEO tool. A prospective quasi-experimental study to implement an ASP in a 194-bed hospital. We evaluated changes in antimicrobial use measured as mean defined daily doses per 1000 patient-days (AUD) for intervention versus preintervention period. A total of 847 antimicrobial PIs were proposed, being 88.3% accepted. Discontinuation due to excessive duration was the most frequently performed PI (23.4%). Most of PIs was classified as major or moderate clinical impact, 41.7% and 37.8% respectively. The global consumption of antimicrobial was reduced from 907.1 to 693.8 AUD, with a signifcant drop in carbapenems and quinolones. Direct expenditure of antibiotics decreased significantly. Pharmacist-led ASP has being effective in reducing consumption of antibiotics. In the absence of ID physician´s support and oversight, pharmacists could lead the improvement of the use of antimicrobials.