Impact of a 4-year antimicrobial stewardship program implemented in a Greek tertiary hospital

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 4-year antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) in a tertiary hospital. We monitored data for 2015 (pre-intervention) and 2016-2019 (post-intervention) about antibiotic consumption (DDD/100 bed days), Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs), resistance rates, length of stay (LOS), and annual antibiotic costs. Significant reductions were observed for total antibiotics/colistin/ carbapenems/quinolones/tigecycline consumption and resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Considerable reductions occurred for LOS (4.18 [2015]/3.0 [2019] days), CDIs (1.47 [2015]/0.86 [2019] per 1000 patients), antibiotic cost/patient (39.45(sic) [2015]/23.69(sic) [2019]). The ASP was successful in reducing antibiotic consumption, antibiotic costs, length of hospital stay, and CDIs.

Automated summary

The study found that a 4-year antibiotic stewardship program in a tertiary hospital successfully reduced antibiotic consumption, antibiotic costs, length of hospital stay, and Clostridioides difficile infections.