Time and personnel requirements for antimicrobial stewardship in small hospitals in a rural area in Germany. Issue 12 (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nachtigall, Irit; Tafelski, Sascha; Heucke, Edwin; Witzke, Oliver; Staack, Annedore; Recknagel-Friese, Sabine; Geffers, Christine; Bonsignore, Marzia
• Is Part Of: Journal of infection and public health. Volume 13:Issue 12(2020)
• Page Start: 1946
• Page End: 1950
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Antibiotic stewardship -- Antimicrobial stewardship programm -- Clostridioides difficile; Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Public health -- Periodicals; Epidemiology -- Periodicals; Nosocomial infections -- Prevention -- Periodicals; Medical microbiology -- Periodicals; 614.4
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2020.10.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1876-0341

Abstract

Abstract: Background: In order to control their anti-infectives consumption, hospitals are required to provide multidisciplinary teams comprising among others an infectiologist, a microbiologist and a pharmacist. Small hospitals though often do not dispose of the defaulted personnel. This study illustrates a solution for an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) in small community hospitals in a rural area in Germany. Methods: Four hospitals of ca. 200 beds each, jointly hired an antimicrobial stewardship expert to start a common ASP. This expert did rounds on every ward once a week, mostly as chard reviews with the physician in charge. Outside the rounds, he could be consulted by mail. Working time and number of visited patients were documented. Anti-infectives consumption, incidence of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) and mortality rates were retrieved from routinely collected data. The intervention period (01/2018–12/2018) was compared to the preintervention period (01/2017–12/2017). Results: 3321 patients were visited in the intervention period. In average, 20 patients were seen per day and 20 min were needed per patient/ chard. About 65% of the expert's working time was needed for rounds, 15% for driving between the hospitals. The anti-infectives consumption of the 4 hospitals in the preintervention period amounted to 50 defined daily doses per 100 occupied bed days. The total consumption was reduced by 10% and of quinolones by 36%. The incidence of hospital-acquired CDI receded from 0.14 to 0.07 cases per 100 patient days (−50%, p = 0.001). The overall in-hospital mortality did not change. Conclusions: A single expert was able to implement a successfull ASP in 4 hospitals. While multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship teams are ideal for tertiary care hospitals, small hospitals need a more practical solution. This survey shows that one expert can be sufficient for several small hospitals even with the distances in a rural setting.