Of 300 patients prescribed oral antibiotics at the time of hospital discharge, urinary tract infection, community-acquired pneumonia , and skin infections accounted for 181 (60%) of the treatment indications. Half of the prescriptions were antibiotics with broad gram-negative activity. Discharge prescriptions were inappropriate in 79 (53%) of 150 cases reviewed.
Objective
To evaluate the long-term outcomes of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) implemented in a hospital with low baseline antibiotic use
Design
Quasi-experimental, interrupted-time series study
Setting
525-bed public safety-net hospital
Intervention
Implementation of a formal ASP in July 2008
Methods
We conducted a time-series analysis to evaluate the impact of the ASP over a 6.25-year period (July 1, 2008 – September 30, 2014) while controlling for trends during a 3-year preintervention period (July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2008). The primary outcome measures were total antibacterial and antipseudomonal use in days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient-days (PD). Secondary outcomes included antimicrobial costs and resistance, hospital-onset C. difficile infection, and other patient-centered measures.
Results
During the preintervention period, total antibacterial and antipseudomonal use were declining (−9.2 and −5.5 DOT/1000 PD per quarter, respectively). During the stewardship period, both continued to decline, although at lower rates (−3.7 and −2.2 DOT/1000 PD, respectively), resulting in a slope change of 5.5 DOT/1000 PD per quarter for total antibacterial use (P = .10) and 3.3 DOT/100 PD per quarter for antipseudomonal use (P = .01). Antibiotic expenditures declined markedly during the stewardship period (−$295.42/1000PD per quarter, p=.002). There were variable changes in antimicrobial resistance and few apparent changes in C. difficile infection and other patient-centered outcomes.
Conclusion
In a hospital with low baseline antibiotic use, implementation of an ASP was associated with sustained reductions in total antibacterial and antipseudomonal use and declining antibiotic expenditures; however, this study highlights limitations of commonly used stewardship outcome measures.
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