Antibiotic stewardship and early discharge from hospital: impact of a structured approach to antimicrobial management.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of an infection team review of patients receiving antibiotics in six hospitals across the UK and to establish the suitability of these patients for continued care in the community. METHODS: An evaluation audit tool was used to assess all patients on antibiotic treatment on acute wards on a given day. Clinical and antibiotic use data were collected by an infection team (doctor, nurse and antibiotic pharmacist). Assessments were made of the requirement for continuing antibiotic treatment, route and duration [including intravenous (iv)/oral switch] and of the suitability of the patients for discharge from hospital and their requirement for community support. RESULTS: Of 1356 patients reviewed, 429 (32%) were on systemic antibiotics, comprising 165 (38%) on iv ±â€Šoral antibiotics and 264 (62%) on oral antibiotics alone. Ninety-nine (23%) patients (including 26 on iv antibiotics) had their antibiotics stopped immediately on clinical grounds. The other 330 (77%) patients (including 139 on iv antibiotics) needed to continue antibiotics, although 47 (34%) could be switched to oral. Eighty-nine (21%) patients were considered eligible for discharge, comprising 10 who would have required outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT), 55 who were suitable for oral outpatient treatment and 24 who had their antibiotics stopped. CONCLUSIONS: Infection team review had a significant impact on antimicrobial use, facilitating iv to oral switch and a reduction in the volume of antibiotic use, possibly reducing the risk of healthcare-associated complications and infections. It identified many patients who could potentially have been managed in the community with appropriate resources, saving 481 bed-days. The health economics are reported in a companion paper.

Guidance document for prevention of Clostridium difficile infection in acute healthcare settings.

SCOPE: Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is the most important infective cause of healthcare-associated diarrhoea in high income countries and one of the most important healthcare-associated pathogens in both Europe and the United States. It is associated with high morbidity and mortality resulting in both societal and financial burden. A significant proportion of this burden is potentially preventable by a combination of targeted infection prevention and control measures and antimicrobial stewardship. The aim of this guidance document is to provide an update on recommendations for prevention of CDI in acute care settings to provide guidance to those responsible for institutional infection prevention and control programmes. METHODS: An expert group was set up by the European society of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases (ESCMID) Study Group for C. difficile (ESGCD), which performed a systematic review of the literature on prevention of CDI in adults hospitalized in acute care settings and derived respective recommendations according to the GRADE approach. Recommendations are stratified for both outbreak and endemic settings. QUESTIONS ADDRESSED BY THE GUIDELINE AND RECOMMENDATIONS: This guidance document provides thirty-six statements on strategies to prevent CDI in acute care settings, including 18 strong recommendations. No recommendation was provided for three questions.

Nosocomial and laboratory-acquired infection with Escherichia coli O157.

Infections caused by verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli O157 (VTEC O157) have emerged as a major public health concern. The nature and severity of associated clinical sequelae are such that symptomatic cases often require hospitalization, with possible exposure to other patients and healthcare workers, including laboratory personnel, to the risk of acquiring VTEC O157. The occurrence of such episodes of hospital- and laboratory-acquired infections has demonstrated that these concerns are justified. Hospital infection control teams must ensure that staff are aware of this potential hazard, and laboratories must review their operating procedures to ensure that their personnel are not unnecessarily exposed, particularly in the light of revised guidance on the safe handling of these organisms.

Guidelines on the facilities required for minor surgical procedures and minimal access interventions.

There have been many changes in healthcare provision in recent years, including the delivery of some surgical services in primary care or in day surgery centres, which were previously provided by acute hospitals. Developments in the fields of interventional radiology and cardiology have further expanded the range and complexity of procedures undertaken in these settings. In the face of these changes there is a need to define from an infection prevention and control perspective the basic physical requirements for facilities in which such surgical procedures may be carried out. Under the auspices of the Healthcare Infection Society, we have developed the following recommendations for those designing new facilities or upgrading existing facilities. These draw upon best practice, available evidence, other guidelines where appropriate, and expert consensus to provide sensible and feasible advice. An attempt is also made to define minimal access interventions and minor surgical procedures. For minimal access interventions, including interventional radiology, new facilities should be mechanically ventilated to achieve 15 air changes per hour but natural ventilation is satisfactory for minor procedures. All procedures should involve a checklist and operators should be appropriately trained. There is also a need for prospective surveillance to accurately determine the post-procedure infection rate. Finally, there is a requirement for appropriate applied research to develop the evidence base required to support subsequent iterations of this guidance.