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Introduction: The accelerating threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria (MRB) forces health care providers to use antibiotics more rationally. Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) are a proven and safe way to achieve that goal. They have been comprehensively studied in adults but data from secondary care pediatric hospitals are lacking. Material and Methods: In our study an ASP with standard operating procedures (SOPs), audits, a weekly ward round with experts in pediatric infectious diseases and an antibiotic pocket-card for selected infectious diseases was established in July 2017 in a Munich municipal secondary care children's hospital. All antibiotic prescriptions on general pediatric wards were reviewed each in the first quarter of 2017 and 2018. The primary outcome was adherence to treatment guidelines. Secondary outcomes were substance consumption, duration of therapy and death. Results: After the ASP was implemented guideline adherence increased significantly from 33 to 63%. The consumption of cephalosporins decreased significantly (-60%), whereas aminopenicillin use increased accordingly (+120%). Neither in the pre- nor in the post-intervention group deaths occurred. Discussion: Data on ASP in pediatric secondary care hospitals are scarce. Most previous studies have been performed at tertiary care/university children's hospitals. We demonstrate a significant improvement in guideline adherence regarding antibiotic treatments after the implementation of an ASP. Cephalosporin consumption decreased which might be relevant for the selection of MRB (e.g., vancomycin-resistant enterococci). Results are limited by the single-center design and the short observation period. The study encourages the implementation of ASPs in secondary care children's hospitals.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Infections with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are the leading cause for hospital admissions in infants and young children. The incidence of RSV-related hospitalizations in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is unclear. To date, no effective treatment for RSV infections is available. Thus, prophylaxis with the monoclonal antibody palivizumab is an important option. METHODS: In a retrospective, single-center study at the Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine of the Medical University Graz, Austria, we analyzed all CF patients born between 1995 and 2012, who were admitted for respiratory problems between 1995 and 2014. We also defined a group of hypothetical RSV infections with the following criteria: admission caused by a respiratory infection during the first RSV season of life when no test for RSV was performed. Furthermore, we assessed the effectiveness of palivizumab as a prevention of RSV-related hospitalizations. RESULTS: A total of 51 patients with CF were identified. The RSV-related hospitalization rate for the first RSV season was 0. Two patients (3.9%) were hospitalized 3 and 4 times, respectively, caused by RSV infections. The mean age at the time of admission was 12.4 ± 2.5 years. One case (1.9%) met our criteria for hypothetical RSV infections. There was no difference in RSV-related hospitalization rates between patients who received palivizumab and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: We found a low rate of RSV-related hospitalizations and could not demonstrate a benefit of palivizumab prophylaxis regarding a decrease of RSV-related hospital admissions. The role of RSV reinfections in CF patients beyond infancy appears to be underestimated.
