Northwick Park infection Consultation Service Part II. Contribution of the service to patient management: An analysis of results between September 1987 and July 1990

Infectious disease consultations and antibiotic usage in a Turkish university hospital

“…Additionally, ID specialists manage the infectious disease treatment of patients hospitalized in other hospital wards. Until February 2003, there was no antibiotic restriction policy in our hospital and every physician Infectious disease consultations and antibiotic usage 63 (11) could prescribe any antibiotic; misuse or overuse of antibiotics was common. Following the implementation of the restriction policy in 2003, prescription of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents (such as carbapenems, glycopeptides, quinolones and some beta-lactam-beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations like piperacillin-tazobactam) was placed under the control of ID physicians.…”

“…For example, Yinnon 1 found that in 46% of consultations, a change of initial therapy or discontinuation of antibiotics was recommended. Wilkins et al 11 found that for 41% of patients, the antibiotic therapy being received at the time of consultation was judged to be suboptimal. In a study performed by Sexton et al, 2 a change in therapy was shown for 59-66% of their consultations.…”

Infectious disease telephone consultations: Numerous, varied and an important educational resource

“…1e3 There has been only one study into the nature and frequency of unsolicited informal consultation in adult ID practice in the UK 4 and no studies describing informal consultation to non-consultant ID staff. In our ID unit, covering a large geographical area and 14 different hospitals, calls are often received directly by the Senior House Officer (SHO).…”

Why Don't They Listen? Adherence to Recommendations of Infectious Disease Consultations

“…As Petrak et al [9] note, "most infectious diseases specialists believe it is obvious and evident that their care is valuable" (p. 1013), yet there are only a few published studies on how frequently ID recommendations are followed or the clinical consequences of those recommendations. Wilkins et al [10] estimated that 41% of the 776 infected patients studied were receiving suboptimal treatment at the time of consultation; there was complete adherence to the ID consultants' advice in 84% of consultations and partial adherence in another 11%. Fowler et al [3] studied the effects of adherence on patient outcomes.…”