Frontline Clinician Knowledge of Antimicrobial Prescribing in an Academic Tertiary Children's Hospital: A Point...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric hospital medicine
• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Clinical knowledge management

Background:

• Effective antimicrobial therapy requires precise knowledge of treatment duration and conversion plans.
• Understanding clinician awareness of key antimicrobial therapy details is crucial for optimizing patient care and stewardship.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess frontline clinicians' knowledge of antimicrobial therapy indications, duration, and intravenous-to-oral conversion plans in hospitalized children.
• To identify differences in knowledge between day and night shift clinicians.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey or audit of frontline clinicians caring for hospitalized pediatric patients.
• Data collection on clinician awareness of specific antimicrobial therapy parameters (indication, day of therapy, duration, IV-to-oral conversion).

Main Results:

• Clinicians frequently knew the indication for antimicrobial therapy.
• Knowledge regarding the current day of therapy, planned duration, and IV-to-oral conversion plans was less consistent.
• Night shift clinicians demonstrated lower awareness of the day and duration of therapy compared to day shift clinicians for the same patients.

Conclusions:

• While indications for antimicrobial use are generally known, gaps exist in clinicians' knowledge of therapy duration and conversion strategies.
• Shift timing (day vs. night) impacts clinician awareness of critical antimicrobial therapy details, highlighting potential workflow or communication issues.