Dorian Hobday1, Aklak Choudhury2, Amani Asour3, Saima Khan3, Sneha Abburu3, Jyotika Sood3, Nora Jaafar3, Manisha Madhani4, Nazia Ahmad5. 1. FY2, Department of Paediatrics, Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Romford, Essex RM7 0AG. 2. Consultant, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Queens Hospital, Romford, Essex. 3. FY2, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Queens Hospital, Romford, Essex. 4. Pharmacist, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Queens Hospital, Romford, Essex. 5. QI Fellow, Department of Quality Improvement, Barking Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Queens Hospital, Romford, Essex.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prolonged or inappropriate antibiotic therapy increases the risk of health-care-associated infections and the development of resistance to antibiotics, and lengthens hospital admissions. There are clear guidelines on antimicrobial stewardship which state that antibiotics should be reviewed between 48 and 72 hours from commencement ( National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, 2015 ). Despite these guidelines this review was often not documented as having been carried out on the authors' inpatient wards. METHODS: A quality improvement project was undertaken with the aim of improving the percentage completion of the 48-hour antimicrobial review box section of the inpatient drug charts to over 90% across two 30-bed acute respiratory wards within 7 weeks. The primary outcome measures were percentage completion of 48-hour antibiotic review and number of days on intravenous antibiotics. The quality improvement programme took place over 7 weeks and included seven interventions designed to improve completion of the 48-hour review. RESULTS: During the study, the percentage completion of 48-hour review rose from a baseline median of 68% to 100% and was accompanied by a reduction in the number of days on intravenous antibiotics from a baseline median of 2.25 days to 1.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: This simple quality improvement project led to a greatly improved review of antimicrobial therapy which was associated with significantly reduced time on intravenous antibiotics. The quality improvement methodology could easily be adapted for other inpatient medical wards.
BACKGROUND: Prolonged or inappropriate antibiotic therapy increases the risk of health-care-associated infections and the development of resistance to antibiotics, and lengthens hospital admissions. There are clear guidelines on antimicrobial stewardship which state that antibiotics should be reviewed between 48 and 72 hours from commencement ( National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, 2015 ). Despite these guidelines this review was often not documented as having been carried out on the authors' inpatient wards. METHODS: A quality improvement project was undertaken with the aim of improving the percentage completion of the 48-hour antimicrobial review box section of the inpatient drug charts to over 90% across two 30-bed acute respiratory wards within 7 weeks. The primary outcome measures were percentage completion of 48-hour antibiotic review and number of days on intravenous antibiotics. The quality improvement programme took place over 7 weeks and included seven interventions designed to improve completion of the 48-hour review. RESULTS: During the study, the percentage completion of 48-hour review rose from a baseline median of 68% to 100% and was accompanied by a reduction in the number of days on intravenous antibiotics from a baseline median of 2.25 days to 1.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: This simple quality improvement project led to a greatly improved review of antimicrobial therapy which was associated with significantly reduced time on intravenous antibiotics. The quality improvement methodology could easily be adapted for other inpatient medical wards.
Authors: Ramandeep Singh Sahota; Kiran Kasper Rajan; Jonathan Mark Sabine Comont; Hyungeun Hans Lee; Nikolina Johnston; Mary James; Rakhee Patel; Joseph Nariculam Journal: BMJ Open Qual Date: 2020-02