Premium
Antibiotic antics – audit of compliance with Antibiotic Therapeutic Guidelines in older patients
Author(s) -
Xiao Diane,
McMullen Danielle,
Ingham Nicholas,
Beveridge Alexander,
Ní Chróinín Danielle
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/jppr.1167
Subject(s) - medicine , audit , antibiotics , emergency medicine , compliance (psychology) , intervention (counseling) , intensive care medicine , nursing , psychology , social psychology , management , microbiology and biotechnology , economics , biology
Background Appropriate antibiotic stewardship is of great importance given increasingly high rates of microbial antibiotic resistance and the vulnerability of older persons to adverse drug effects. Aim To assess prescriber compliance with Antibiotic Therapeutic Guidelines when prescribing for older patients admitted to our geriatric service, and if deficits were identified in the initial audit, to conduct an educational intervention, with re‐audit planned thereafter. Method Patients admitted to our geriatric Medical Admissions Unit ( MAU ) and treated with antibiotics for infection (confirmed or presumed) were prospectively audited (August–October 2013). Demographic details, antibiotics treatment, microbiology culture and sensitivities, and prescribing teams were recorded. Following educational intervention, MAU admissions were re‐audit (January 2014). Results Initial (electronic) Therapeutic Guidelines ( eTG ) compliance for both audits was similar with no statistical significance (15%). Compliance rates ‘at any stage of admission’ was also not statistically significantly different 43% in 2013, 54% in 2014 (p = 0.81). There was no association between the team initiating therapy (emergency vs medical team) and compliance. Conclusion Rates of compliance with eTG are suboptimal in our institution. Furthermore, the brief, targeted educational intervention was not effective and further exploration of means to improve antibiotic compliance is needed.