Stewardship actions for device associated infections: An intervention study in the emergency intensive care unit

Improving the practices of antimicrobial use in hospitals, especially in developing countries, is a challenging duty.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of certain stewardship actions on the use of antibiotics for device-associated infections in the emergency intensive care unit in Egypt.

The intervention included establishment of AS team, design an antibiogram and preparation of antibiotic use guidelines, education, and infection prevention and control measures. Pre- and postinterventions surveys tookplace including: antibiotic prescription compliance, antibiotic cost, bacterial profile and antibiotic resistance rates.

Antibiotic prescription compliance improved, especially for prophylactic antibiotics prescription; in preintervention phase, 27.4% of cases received unindicated antibiotic prophylaxis vs 5.8% after intervention. A statistically significant decrease in cost after the intervention was reported (p = 0.04). Acinetobacter baumannii and Klebsiella pneumonia were the most frequently isolated pathogens (25.6%) and (21.8%) in pre and post-intervention phases respectively. A statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of MDR (X² = 11.9, p = 0.009) was observed. The most prevalent XDR is K-pneumonia (45% vs 17%) in phase 1&3. No pan drug-resistant isolates were detected.

Sound antibiotic guidelines coupled with effective infection control precautions and education would be a good intervention, particularly with a leadership commitment. The use of microbiology tests to direct prescribing decisions should be a underscored. Sustained research initiatives may support the proper implementation of AS programmes in limited resource settings.