Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-11-2022

Publication Title

Antibiotics (Basel)

Abstract

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are effective means to optimize prescribing practices. They are under-utilized in the Middle East where many challenges exist for ASP implementation. We assessed the effectiveness of infectious disease physician-driven post-prescription review and feedback as an ASP in Lebanon. This prospective cohort study was conducted over an 18-month period in the medical, surgical, and intensive care units of a tertiary care hospital. It consisted of three phases: the baseline, intervention, and follow-up. There was a washout period of two months between each phase. Patients aged ≥16 years receiving 48 h of antibiotics were included. During the intervention phase, the AMS team reviewed antimicrobial use within 72 h post-prescription and gave alternate recommendations based on the guidelines for use. The acceptance of the recommendations was measured at 72 h. The primary outcome of the study was days of therapy per 1000 study patient days. A total of 328 patients were recruited in the baseline phase (August-October 2020), 467 patients in the intervention phase (January-June 2021), and 301 patients in the post-intervention phase (September-December 2021). The total days of therapy decreased from 11.46 during the baseline phase to 8.64 during the intervention phase (p < 0.001). Intervention acceptance occurred 88.5% of the time. The infectious disease physician-driven implementation of an ASP was successful in reducing antibiotic utilization in an acute care setting in Lebanon.

PubMed ID

35625286

Volume

11

Issue

5

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.