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. 2024 Aug 16;79(2):321-324.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciae112.

Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs Reduce Antibiotic Use at Combined Adult-Pediatric Hospitals

Alison C Tribble  1 , Ganga S Moorthy  2   3 , Rebecca J Vartanian  4 , Michael J Smith  2   3
Affiliations

Pediatric Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs Reduce Antibiotic Use at Combined Adult-Pediatric Hospitals

Alison C Tribble et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Implementation of dedicated pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) at 2 combined adult-pediatric hospitals with existing ASPs was associated with sustained decreases in pediatric antibiotic use out of proportion to declines seen in adult inpatient units. ASPs in combined hospitals may not detect excessive pediatric antibiotic use without incorporating pediatric expertise.

Keywords: antibiotic overuse; antibiotic use in hospitalized children; pediatric antimicrobial stewardship.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. A. C. T. has received research support from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) for antimicrobial stewardship studies, payment from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for antimicrobial stewardship lectures, and travel support from the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) to participate in pediatric infectious diseases case discussions, and is chair of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS) Pediatric Committee on Antimicrobial Stewardship. M. J. S. has received research support from Merck for antimicrobial stewardship studies and from Pfizer for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine and therapeutic clinical trials, expert testimony payments from Starnes Davies Florie, LLP, and is chair of the AAP Section on Epidemiology, Public Health and Evidence, and member of the PIDS Vaccine Advocacy Committee. R. J. V. reports consulting fees and support for travel from Vermont Oxford Network, and payment from Engage Grow Thrive, LLC, for clinical expertise. G. S. M. reports no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Antibiotic use trends at 2 combined adult-pediatric hospitals for 12 months before and 30 months after implementation of dedicated pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs. Antibiotic use is reported as days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient-days present in 3 categories (2023 National Healthcare Safety Network [NHSN] definitions [6]): all antibacterials (A), intravenous vancomycin (B), and broad-spectrum antibacterials used for hospital-onset infections (C) (pediatric NHSN definition [6]). Data are displayed on I-charts with a dotted centerline and dashed lines denoting upper and lower control limits. Open data points in Duke University Hospital all antibacterial baseline data indicate nonsustained special cause; these points were excluded from baseline analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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