Clinical Impact of an Antibiotic Stewardship Program at a Children's Hospital.

Introduction: Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASP) improve appropriate antibiotic use. Data are limited on the clinical benefit of ASPs in children's hospitals. This study's objective was to determine the impact of an ASP on length of stay (LOS) and readmission rate among patients admitted to children's hospitals.

Preoperative Antibiotic Orders: Protocol-Initiated Pharmacist Order Entry.

To evaluate the antibiotic selection of preoperative orders before and after a pharmacist order entry protocol for patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization. A retrospective chart review of orthopedic surgery procedures on patients with MRSA colonization at a free-standing, academic pediatric hospital, between February 2010 and February 2012. Procedures that were performed pre protocol (n = 27) implementation had a 63% rate of appropriate antibiotic selection compared to 81% in the postprotocol group (n = 32; p = 0.

Clinical diagnoses and antimicrobials predictive of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship recommendations: a program evaluation.

Background: The number of pediatric antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) is increasing and program evaluation is a key component to improve efficiency and enhance stewardship strategies.

Objective: To determine the antimicrobials and diagnoses most strongly associated with a recommendation provided by a well-established pediatric ASP.

Design And Setting: Retrospective cohort study from March 3, 2008, to March 2, 2013, of all ASP reviews performed at a free-standing pediatric hospital.

Antibiotic Management of Animal Bites in Children During the Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Era.

Children presenting to an emergency department following an animal bite were found to be at risk for infection if they had puncture wounds, crush wounds, or were bitten by a cat. Of the infected wounds that were cultured, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was not isolated as a pathogen.

Clinicians' Attitudes Towards an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at a Children's Hospital.

Background: In pediatrics, limited data are available on how to develop and implement an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP). In addition, no data exist on clinicians' impression of such programs. The objectives of this study were to describe the development and implementation of an ASP in a children's hospital and to describe the thoughts and attitudes of the clinicians interacting with the ASP.

Impact of a Prospective-Audit-With-Feedback Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at a Children's Hospital.

Background: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant organisms and the lack of development of new antimicrobials have made it imperative that additional strategies be developed to maintain the effectiveness of these existing antibiotics. The objective of this study was to describe the impact of a prospective-audit-with-feedback antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) on antibiotic use in a children's hospital.

Method: A quasi-experimental study design with a control group was performed to assess the impact of a prospective-audit-with-feedback ASP.

Development of criteria for gentamicin monitoring in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Purpose: The results of a study to identify factors associated with serum gentamicin levels outside the therapeutic range in a neonatal population are reported.

Methods: A single-center retrospective chart review was conducted to identify cases involving gentamicin use in the neonatal intensive care unit; a sample of cases sufficient for risk-factor analysis (n = 225) was selected for evaluation. In all evaluated cases, gentamicin was administered according to a standardized dosing protocol based on gestational age and weight.