An antimicrobial stewardship program implemented in an intensive care unit at a general hospital in Barcelona, Spain, helped significantly reduce the use of antimicrobials, according to a study published in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy.
Researchers examined the use of antimicrobials expressed as defined daily doses per 1,000 patient days and days of therapy per 100 occupied bed-days in the ICU. They studied the use of antimicrobials before (2007 to 2010) the implementation of the antimicrobial stewardship program and after (2011 to 2015).
The study included a total of 5,002 patients in the before implementation period and 3,031 in the after period. The percentage of patients treated with one or more antimicrobials decreased from 88.6 percent to 77.2 percent, an 11.4 percent drop. Defined daily doses per 1,000 patient days decreased from 246.8 to 192.3; while days of therapy per 100 occupied bed-days decreased from 66.7 to 54.6.
"Implementation of an AMS program in the ICU was associated with a marked reduction of the use of antimicrobials, with cost savings close to one million euros since its implementation," study authors noted.