Reduction in Antibiotic Usage and Financial Savings Through a Large System Intervention Project

Clinicians continue to seek out ways to decrease antibiotic usage and its sequelae for infants with risk factors for Early Onset Sepsis (EOS). We carried out a large system intervention (LSI) to decrease antibiotic usage, decrease the proportion of infants exposed to any antibiotics and evaluate the financial impact of this intervention. Antibiotic use was monitored from January 2018 through June 2020 for infants born at York Hospital ≥ 35 weeks gestation and discharged from Newborn Nursery. LSIs, including the Kaiser Sepsis Calculator, were implemented January-June 2019. Quality metrics were compared 12-months before and after the intervention. Overall, 5021 infants were discharged from the nursery. Antibiotic usage decreased 68% and infant exposure to antibiotics decreased 64%. There was a savings of $697 per at risk newborn and there were no readmissions for EOS. A Systemic LSI can safely reduce newborn antibiotic exposure and create significant cost saving.