Applicability of Outpatient Quality Indicators for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in a Primary Health Care Area: a Point Prevalence Survey.

The ability to measure the quality of antibiotic prescriptions is a critical element in all antimicrobial stewardship programs. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the clinimetric properties of 32 recently developed outpatient quality indicators (OQIs) and to identify potential room for improvement in antibiotic use in a primary health care (PHC) area. The study was performed in a PHC area in Barcelona, Spain with 260,657 inhabitants, nine PHC centers, and a 400-bed acute-care teaching hospital. We selected 9 of the 32 OQIs that were applicable to our PHC area and evaluated them for measurability, adherence, and room for improvement. Nonmeasurable OQIs, OQIs without room for improvement, and OQIs beyond the scope of the PHC antimicrobial stewardship program were excluded. Data from 260,561 registered patients were assessed. Measurability was high for all OQIs except those that required manual recording of the clinical diagnosis (OQIs on group A streptococcal diagnostic testing). Adherence to guidelines was poor for most OQIs, but particularly for the indicator on the avoidance of antibiotics for viral or self-limiting bacterial infections, where we observed more than 60% room for improvement for both acute tonsillitis and sinusitis. The QIs evaluated were applicable to clinical practice and proved useful for identifying areas with room for improvement in our setting and for guiding the design of future interventions with specific objectives.

Impact of a Multifaceted Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention in a Primary Health Care Area: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted antimicrobial stewardship intervention on antibiotic consumption in a primary health care (PHC) area in Spain. Quasi-experimental study conducted in a PHC area with nine PHC centers, a 400-bed acute care teaching hospital, and 18 nursing homes serving a population of 260,561. The intervention was based on the 2016 CDC Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship publication and targeted 130 PHC physicians, 41 PHC pediatricians, 19 emergency physicians, and 18 nursing home physicians. The components were commitment, actions for improving antibiotic prescribing, tracking and feedback, and education and experience. The primary outcome was overall antibiotic consumption. Secondary outcomes were consumption of antibiotics to treat pharyngotonsillitis, acute otitis media, acute sinusitis, acute bronchitis, and urinary tract infection (UTI), percentage of patients treated with specific antibiotics, and dispensing costs. Consumption was measured in defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day (DID) and compared pre- and postintervention (2016 vs. 2018). Overall antibiotic consumption decreased from 16.01 to 13.31 DID (-16.85%). Consumption of amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and quinolones decreased from 6.04 to 4.72 DID (-21.88%) and 1.64 to 1.23 DID (-25.06%), respectively. The percentage of patients treated with antibiotics decreased from 26.99 to 22.41%. The intervention resulted in cost savings of €72,673. Use of antibiotics to treat pharyngotonsillitis, UTI, and acute otitis media, sinusitis, and bronchitis decreased significantly. Our antimicrobial stewardship program led to a decrease in antibiotic consumption and significantly improved the use of antibiotics for the most prevalent PHC infections.

[Prescription of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors: an intervention strategy in primary care]. / Utilización de coxibs: una estrategia de intervención en la atención primaria.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate an intervention designed to rationalize prescription of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors (COXIBs). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We performed a before-after intervention study. Face-to-face educational outreach visits were conducted in general practitioners who were heavy prescribers and group intervention for the remaining. Data on prescribing habits were obtained from the pharmacy database of the Catalan Health Institute. The pre-intervention period (period 1) was compared with the immediate postintervention period (period 2, which coincided with the publication of a safety alert on the adverse effects of COXIBs) and the late postintervention period (period 3). The data monitored were: a) expenditure due to COXIBs; b) consumption in daily defined doses (DDD) per 1,000 habitants/day (DHD); c) the percentage of COXIBs/total NSAIDs and the percentage of recommended NSAIDs/total NSAIDs, and d) the mean daily cost of DHD of NSAIDs. RESULTS: The mean monthly reduction in expenditure on COXIBs was 19,480 euro/month in period 2 and was 18,555 euro/month in period 3. The percentage of reduction in DHD of COXIBs was 35.4% (p < 0.001), which remained stable throughout the study. The percentage of recommended NSAIDs/total NSAIDs increased 14% in the short term and 17% in the long term while the mean daily cost was reduced by 10.1% and 11.2%. The decrease in DHD of COXIBs in the face-to-face intervention group was 39.5% in period 2 and was 42.2% period 3 compared with 19.4% and 12.4% in the group intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The educational intervention was associated with improvements in prescription of NSAIDs, although some of the improvement was probably due to the safety alert issued during the study period.