Cessation of smoking trial in the emergency department (CoSTED): protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Attendees of emergency departments (EDs) have a higher than expected prevalence of smoking. ED attendance may be a good opportunity to prompt positive behaviour change, even for smokers not currently motivated to quit. This study aims to determine whether an opportunist smoking cessation intervention delivered in the ED can help daily smokers attending the ED quit smoking and is cost-effective. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A two-arm pragmatic, multicentred, parallel-group, individually randomised, controlled superiority trial with an internal pilot, economic evaluation and mixed methods process evaluation. The trial will compare ED-based brief smoking cessation advice, including provision of an e-cigarette and referral to local stop smoking services (intervention) with the provision of contact details for local stop smoking services (control). Target sample size is 972, recruiting across 6 National Health Service EDs in England and Scotland. Outcomes will be collected at 1, 3 and 6 months. The primary outcome at 6 months is carbon monoxide verified continuous smoking abstinence. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The trial was approved by the South Central-Oxford B Research Committee (21/SC/0288). Dissemination will include the publication of outcomes, and the process and economic evaluations in peer-reviewed journals. The findings will also be appropriately disseminated to relevant practice, policy and patient representative groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04854616; protocol V.4.2.

Managing antibiotics wisely: a quality improvement programme in a tertiary neonatal unit in the UK.

Microbial resistance to antibiotics is a serious global health problem compounded by antibiotic overuse and limited investment in new antibiotic research. Inappropriate perinatal antibiotic exposure is increasingly linked to lifelong adverse outcomes through its impact on the developing microbiome. Antibiotic stewardship may be the only effective preventative strategy currently available. As the first tertiary neonatal unit in the UK to collaborate in an international quality improvement programme (QIP) with Vermont Oxford Network (VON), we present the results of our antibiotic stewardship initiative. The QIP was officially launched in January 2016 and aimed to reduce antibiotic usage rate (AUR) by 20% of baseline by 31st December 2016 without compromising patient safety. A multidisciplinary team of professionals and parent representatives shared good practices and improvement strategies through international webinars and local meetings, devised uniform data collection methodology and implemented a number of carefully selected 'Plan-Do-Study-Act' cycles. Run charts were used to present data and, where appropriate, statistical analysis undertaken to compare outcomes. The QIP resulted in a sustained reduction in AUR from a baseline median of 347 to 198 per 1000 patient-days (a reduction of 43%). The proportion of culture-negative sepsis screens where antibiotics were stopped within 36-48 hours increased consistently from a baseline of 32.5% to 91%. The antibiotic days per patient at discharge reduced from a median of 3 to 2 days, and there was a reduction in practice variation. Our annual mortality and necrotising enterocolitis rates for the VON cohort (<30 weeks or <1500 g) were the best ever recorded, 5.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Audits confirmed a high level of staff and family awareness of the QIP. The QIP achieved a sustained reduction in antibiotic use without compromising patient safety. Our challenge is to sustain this improvement safely.