Results of an antimicrobial control program at a university hospital

Antimicrobial prescribing practice in UK equine veterinary practice

“…The introduction of antimicrobial use guidelines to a small animal veterinary teaching hospital in Canada was shown to have a positive effect on the prescribing practices of clinicians, including a general reduction in the quantity of antimicrobials used and an increase in the relative use of first‐line compared with third‐line drugs [15]. Similar effects have been documented in human hospitals and, in some cases, a reduction in the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria has been noted [18–20]. The introduction of antimicrobial use guidelines would appear to lead to more prudent use of antimicrobials and is a measure that should be implemented by veterinary practices across the UK.…”

Investigation of antimicrobial use and the impact of antimicrobial use guidelines in a small animal veterinary teaching hospital: 1995–2004

“…Additionally, the fact that these decreases occurred from 2000 through 2004, the period concurrent with implementation of antimicrobial use guidelines, suggests that these guidelines may have, at least in part, been a contributing factor. 1 The high cost of drugs such as carbapenems, compared with the costs of alternative agents, is an added concern in human medicine, 1 and the changes in antimicrobial prescription patterns determined in the present study would presumably have resulted in decreased costs to clients. [18][19][20] As a result, there are increasing calls to restrict the use of fluoroquinolones in humans to situations in which alternative treatments have failed, patients are allergic to other drug options, or multidrug-resistant infection is present.…”

“…1,[4][5][6][7][8] Positive impacts on prescribing practices have been reported with some programs, resulting in benefits such as decreases in overall antimicrobial use, use of targeted antimicrobials, costs, and antimicrobial resistance 1,4,7,[9][10][11] ; however, the relative effect of individual factors is unclear. These include development of clinical practice guidelines, education of physicians and patients, restriction of available antimicrobials, use of antimicrobial order forms, feedback activities, monitoring of prescription patterns, use of antimicrobial rotation programs, and requiring approval of use of certain drugs.…”

Rapid testing for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Implications for antimicrobial stewardship

“…The aims of such programs include reducing antimicrobial resistance and streamlining antibiotic usage while containing overall health care costs. 1,2 In 2007 the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) published guidelines for instituting antimicrobial stewardship programs. 3 The guidelines defined antimicrobial stewardship as optimizing antibiotic therapy for infection while decreasing inappropriate antibiotic use.…”