Impact of ward pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship in intensive care units

Longitudinal impact of a pharmacist-led stepwise antimicrobial stewardship program on intravenous antimicrobial use at a small resource-limited Japanese hospital

BACKGROUND

Clinical pharmacists play a central role in the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP). However, personnel shortages, the lack of a system for career development, and other challenges impede the active contribution of clinical pharmacists to ASPs in Japan.

AIM

To conduct a long-term evaluation of a pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship program.

METHODS

The present, retrospective study used segmented time-series analysis to examine antimicrobial consumption, blood culture practices, and the rate of resistance in pathogens to the antimicrobials prescribed.

FINDINGS

After the ASP was introduced, days of therapy (DOT) with anti-pseudomonal agents demonstrated a downward trend (-0.31; 95 % confidence interval [CI]: -0.43 to -0.19; p < 0.01). Moreover, the trend in the number of blood cultures after the intervention significantly increased (0.20; 95 % CI: 0.05 to 0.35; p = 0.01), and the rate of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to cefepime and piperacillin decreased. No significant change was observed in the DOT trend for total intravenous antimicrobial use before or after the intervention (-1.07; 95 % CI: -2.44 to 0.29; p = 0.12).

CONCLUSION

Although the role of pharmacists in an ASP should continue to be examined, the present, longitudinal study found that stepwise introduction of an ASP reduced broad-spectrum antimicrobial use and was associated with a decrease in the antimicrobial resistance rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa but not of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli or MRSA.

A Systematic Review of Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions Implemented in Intensive Care Units

Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) is essential to ensure appropriate antimicrobial usage and subsequently reduce the emergence of microbial resistance. The intensive care unit is a crucial place for monitoring antimicrobial usage due the frequent exposure to infections. This review provides an update on the current status of antimicrobial stewardship intervention utilized in intensive care settings. A comprehensive search was performed in Cochrane, Web of Science, and PubMed using keywords grouped into Antimicrobial, Stewardship, and Intensive care unit. The search was restricted to original articles published from April 2015 to November 2024. Out of 1,234 records retrieved from the databases, 55 studies were included in this systematic review. Most of the studies were conducted in the United States (n = 9), followed by China (n = 8), India (n = 5), and Italy (n = 4). We identified seven key antimicrobial stewardship (AS) strategies: multi-interventions ASP (22 studies, 40%), prospective feedback and audit (11 studies, 20%), procalcitonin (PCT) protocols for guiding antimicrobial use (12 studies, 21.8%), protocols for antimicrobial de-escalation (4 studies, 7.3%), antimicrobial restrictions or preapprovals (4 studies, 7.3%), diagnostic stewardship (1 study, 1.8%), and guidelines for antimicrobial prescription (1 study, 1.8%). A reduction in targeted or overall antimicrobial usage was reported in most studies (34/42). Specifically, all studies implementing multi-invention ASPs reported a successful reduction in antimicrobial utilization. Some antimicrobial stewardship interventions significantly enhanced the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescriptions. In addition, patient health outcomes were not compromised by antimicrobial reduction. Nonetheless, future studies at a larger scale over a longer time are recommended to accurately assess the impact of AS programme on patient health outcomes.

Evidence based QUality Improvement for Prescribing Stewardship in ICU (EQUIPS-ICU): protocol for type III hybrid implementation-effectiveness study

BACKGROUND

Approximately half of all antimicrobial prescriptions in intensive care units (ICUs) may be inappropriate, including those prescribed when not needed, in unnecessary combinations or for longer durations than needed. Inappropriate prescribing is costly, exposes patients to unnecessary side-effects and drives population-level antimicrobial resistance, the prevalence and consequences of which are greatest in low- and middle-income countries. However, the implementation of interventions to improve the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing has been variable and requires further study.

METHODS

We propose a type III hybrid implementation/effectiveness interventional cohort trial in 35 ICUs in up to 11 low- and middle- income countries. The study intervention is a structured review of antimicrobial prescriptions as recommended by the World Health Organisation. Strategies to support stakeholder-led implementation include development of local protocols, registry-enabled audit and feedback, and education. Evaluation of implementation, and the determinants of its success, is informed by the RE-AIM framework and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research respectively. The primary outcome is a composite measure of fidelity, reach and adoption. Secondary outcomes describe the effectiveness of the intervention on improving antimicrobial prescribing. Qualitative interviews will assess relevant implementation acceptability, adaptations and maintenance. A baseline survey will investigate ICU-level antimicrobial stewardship structures and processes.

DISCUSSION

This study addresses global policy priorities by supporting implementation research of antimicrobial stewardship, and strengthening associated healthcare professional competencies. It does this in a setting where improvement is sorely needed: low- and middle- income country ICUs. The study will also describe the influence of pre-existing antimicrobial stewardship structures and processes on implementation and improve understanding about the efficacy of strategies to overcome barriers to implementation in these settings.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study protocol has been registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (ref NCT06666738) on 31 Oct 2004. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06666738?term=NCT06666738&rank=1 .

Practice-enhancing publications about the medication-use process in 2023

PURPOSE

This article identifies, prioritizes, and summarizes published literature on the medication-use process (MUP) from calendar year 2023 that can impact health-system pharmacy daily practice. The MUP is the foundational system that provides the framework for safe medication utilization within the healthcare environment. The MUP is defined in this article as having the following components: prescribing/transcribing, dispensing, administration, and monitoring. Articles evaluating at least one step of the MUP were assessed for their usefulness toward practice improvement.

SUMMARY

A PubMed search was conducted in January 2024 for calendar year 2023 using targeted Medical Subject Headings keywords and the tables of contents of selected pharmacy journals were searched, providing a total of 5,314 articles. A thorough review identified 40 potentially practice-enhancing articles: 8 for prescribing/transcribing, 15 for dispensing, 6 for administration, and 11 for monitoring. The trends from the articles are briefly summarized, with a mention of the importance within health-system pharmacy. The articles are listed and summarized in tables for further review and evaluation.

CONCLUSION

It is important to routinely review the published literature and to incorporate significant findings into daily practice. This article assists in identifying and summarizing the most impactful literature from 2023. Health-system pharmacists have an active role in improving the MUP in their institutions, and awareness of significant published studies can assist in changing practice at the institutional level.

Evaluation of hospital pharmacists' activities using additional reimbursement for infection prevention as an indicator in small and medium-sized hospitals

BACKGROUND

Hospitals in Japan established the healthcare delivery system from FY 2018 to 2021 by acquiring an additional reimbursement for infection prevention (ARIP) of category 1 or 2. However, research on outcomes of ARIP applications related to the practice of hospital pharmacists is scarce.

METHODS

This study assessed the activities performed by hospital pharmacists in hospitals with 100 to 299 beds, using ARIP acquirement as an indicator, using data from an annual questionnaire survey conducted in 2020 by the Japanese Society of Hospital Pharmacists on the status of hospital pharmacy departments. Out of the survey items, this study used those related to hospital functions, number of beds, number of pharmacists, whether the hospital is included in the diagnosis procedure combination (DPC) system, average length of stay, and nature of work being performed in the analysis. The relationship between the number of beds per pharmacist and state of implementation of pharmacist services or the average length of hospital stay was considered uncorrelated when the absolute value of the correlation coefficient was within 0-0.2, whereas the relationship was considered to have a weak, moderate, or strong correlation when the absolute value ranged at 0.2-0.4, 0.4-0.7, or 0.7-1, respectively.

RESULTS

Responses were received from 3612 (recovery rate: 43.6%) hospitals. Of these, 210 hospitals meeting the criteria for ARIP 1 with 100-299 beds, and 245 hospitals meeting the criteria for ARIP 2 with 100-299 beds, were included in our analysis. There was a significant difference in the number of pharmacists, with a larger number in ARIP 1 hospitals. For the pharmacist services, significant differences were observed, with a more frequency in ARIP 1 hospitals in pharmaceutical management and guidance to pre-hospitalization patients, sterile drug processing of injection drugs and therapeutic drug monitoring. In DPC hospitals with ARIP 1 (173 hospitals) and 2 (105 hospitals), the average number of beds per pharmacist was 21.7 and 24.7, respectively, while the average length of stay was 14.3 and 15.4 d, respectively. Additionally, a weak negative correlation was observed between the number of pharmacist services with "Fairly well" or "Often" and the number of beds per pharmacist for both ARIP 1 (R = -0.207) and ARIP 2 (R = -0.279) DPC hospitals. Furthermore, a weak correlation (R = 0.322) between the average number of beds per pharmacist and the average length of hospital stay was observed for ARIP 2 hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that lower beds per pharmacist might lead to improved pharmacist services in 100-299 beds DPC hospitals with ARIP 1 or 2. The promotion of proactive efforts in hospital pharmacist services and fewer beds per pharmacist may relate to shorter hospital stays especially in small and medium-sized hospitals with ARIP 2 when ARIP acquisition was used as an indicator. These findings may help to accelerate the involvement of hospital pharmacists in infection control in the future.

Clinical Impact of a Pharmacist-Driven Prospective Audit with Intervention and Feedback on the Treatment of Patients with Bloodstream Infection

Evidence for the utility of pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship programs remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of our institutional pharmacist-driven prospective audit with intervention and feedback (PAF) on the treatment of patients with bloodstream infections (BSIs). The effect of pharmacist-driven PAF was estimated using an interrupted time series analysis with a quasi-experimental design. The proportion of de-escalation during BSI treatment increased by 44% after the implementation of pharmacist-driven PAF (95% CI: 30−58, p < 0.01). The number of days of therapy decreased by 16 per 100 patient days for carbapenem (95% CI: −28 to −3.5, p = 0.012) and by 15 per 100 patient days for tazobactam/piperacillin (95% CI: −26 to −4.9, p < 0.01). Moreover, the proportion of inappropriate treatment in empirical and definitive therapy was significantly reduced after the implementation of pharmacist-driven PAF. Although 30-day mortality did not change, compliance with evidenced-based bundles in the BSI of Staphylococcus aureus significantly increased (p < 0.01). In conclusion, our pharmacist-driven PAF increased the proportion of de-escalation and decreased the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, as well as the proportion of inappropriate treatment in patients with BSI. This indicates that pharmacist-driven PAF is useful in improving the quality of antimicrobial treatment and reducing broad-spectrum antimicrobial use in the management of patients with BSI.