Antimicrobial Expenditures and Usage at Four University Hospitals

Abstract

In two hospitals, lowest expenditures in either surgery or medicine were associated with active antimicrobial drug use programs suggesting an impact of these programs on drug use and expenditures limited to these services. The identification of such large patient-mix unrelated differences in antimicrobial usage and expenditures offers opportunities for quality improvements and cost reduction.

Update on Glycopeptide Use in German University Hospitals

“…This is similar to rates reported in United States hospitals, despite considerably lower rates of oxacillin resistance in S. aureus in Germany [37,38].Active antimicrobial management in one of the hospitals included in our previous study was associated with decreasing glycopeptide consumption in the medical service to < 1.5 DDD/100 patient days. Our study also found this hospital had an essentially unchanged low consumption (< 1 DDD/100 patient days) in the surgical service area.…”

“…The hospitals varied in size from ~1,000 to ~1,700 beds, and differed from each other in structure, special services offered, and in the availability of interdepartmental guidelines and an antimicrobial therapeutics committee, antimicrobial drug formularies, formulary restrictions, and infectious disease consultation services. Two of the hospitals (A and B) had previously been included in drug utilization surveillance studies [37,38] so that a comparison of glycopeptide use was possible for the periods 1992-1994 vs 1998-2000. Both of these hospitals had a moderately active antibiotic management program, according to the definition used by Carling et al [40].…”

Glycopeptide Use at Four University Hospitals in Southern Germany

“…occupied bed days). As reported previously [14], the four university hospitals included, here designated A, B, C and D, varied in size from ~1,000 to ~1,700 beds, and differed from each other in structure, special services offered, and in the availability of interdepartmental guidelines and an antimicrobial therapeutics committee, antimicrobial drug formularies, formulary restrictions and infectious disease consultation services. Two of the hospitals (A and D) could be classified as having a moderately active antibiotic management program, while the other two (B and C) had no such active but only passive antibiotic management programs (according to the definition used by Carling et al [15]).…”

Trends in Antibiotic Use at a University Hospital: Defined or Prescribed Daily Doses? Patient Days or Admissions as Denominator?

“…In some studies, prescription prevalence rates were evaluated according to drug use surveys [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Such surveys are time consuming but offer the opportunity to link drug use with individual patient variables.…”