Gina de Guzman Betito1, Ines Pauwels2, Ann Versporten3, Herman Goossens3, Mari Rose De Los Reyes4, Maria Tarcela Gler1. 1. Makati Medical Center, Makati City, Philippines. 2. Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: ines.pauwels@uantwerpen.be. 3. Laboratory of Medical Microbiology, Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. 4. Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Philippines.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Optimising antimicrobial prescribing in hospitals through antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is essential in addressing the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a hospital-wide programme, delivered by a multidisciplinary AMS team, on antimicrobial prescribing outcomes. METHODS: The AMS programme consisted of a combination of persuasive, restrictive, and structural components and was implemented in two phases. We used data from the Global-PPS, collected every six months between September 2017 and December 2019, to measure the antimicrobial use prevalence and monitor selected antibiotic prescribing quality indicators. RESULTS: A significantly increasing trend (P < 0.001) was observed for the indicators related to documentation of prescribing, that is the reason for treatment and stop or review date. We observed a significantly decreasing trend (P < 0.001) in the number of prescriptions for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) prescribed for more than 24 h; however, sample sizes for surgical patients were small. For these three indicators, a sudden and pronounced improvement was seen after the second set of interventions, which consisted of (i) an antibiotic documentation policy, (ii) a 24-h automatic stop order for SAP, and (iii) dissemination of new SAP guidelines. A significantly decreasing trend was also observed for hospital-wide antimicrobial use prevalence (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship programme positively influenced antibiotic prescribing practices. Further research should address long-term trends in antibiotic prescribing to establish whether these coordinated activities have led to a sustained behaviour change among prescribers, thereby also evaluating clinical outcomes and antimicrobial resistance rates.
OBJECTIVES: Optimising antimicrobial prescribing in hospitals through antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is essential in addressing the global threat of antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a hospital-wide programme, delivered by a multidisciplinary AMS team, on antimicrobial prescribing outcomes. METHODS: The AMS programme consisted of a combination of persuasive, restrictive, and structural components and was implemented in two phases. We used data from the Global-PPS, collected every six months between September 2017 and December 2019, to measure the antimicrobial use prevalence and monitor selected antibiotic prescribing quality indicators. RESULTS: A significantly increasing trend (P < 0.001) was observed for the indicators related to documentation of prescribing, that is the reason for treatment and stop or review date. We observed a significantly decreasing trend (P < 0.001) in the number of prescriptions for surgical antibiotic prophylaxis (SAP) prescribed for more than 24 h; however, sample sizes for surgical patients were small. For these three indicators, a sudden and pronounced improvement was seen after the second set of interventions, which consisted of (i) an antibiotic documentation policy, (ii) a 24-h automatic stop order for SAP, and (iii) dissemination of new SAP guidelines. A significantly decreasing trend was also observed for hospital-wide antimicrobial use prevalence (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship programme positively influenced antibiotic prescribing practices. Further research should address long-term trends in antibiotic prescribing to establish whether these coordinated activities have led to a sustained behaviour change among prescribers, thereby also evaluating clinical outcomes and antimicrobial resistance rates.