Comparison of Spectrum Coverage Score-based Antimicrobial Consumption in Acute Care Hospitals Over Eight Years: A...

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Pharmacology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Antimicrobial stewardship programs are evolving to better assess antimicrobial consumption.
• Days of Antibiotic Spectrum Coverage (DASC) offers a spectrum-aware metric, complementing traditional Days of Therapy (DOT).

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of DASC across multiple hospitals.
• To assess antimicrobial consumption and the effectiveness of streamlining processes using DASC/DOT.

Main Methods:

• Collected antimicrobial consumption data from 12 hospitals over 96 months.
• Analyzed trends in DASC/DOT using linear regression and Spearman's rank-order correlation.
• Assessed correlations between DASC/DOT, DOT per 1000 patient-days, and hospital characteristics like ICU capacity and transplant services.

Main Results:

• Median DOT was 303.4, median DASC was 2107.0, and median DASC/DOT was 7.2.
• No significant correlation was found between DASC/DOT and DOT per 1000 patient-days.
• University hospitals and cancer centers exhibited higher DASC/DOT, likely due to specialized services (ICU, transplant).

Conclusions:

• DASC/DOT is a valuable tool for evaluating antimicrobial use and streamlining efforts.
• Comparing DASC/DOT across institutions and regions can pinpoint areas needing enhanced antimicrobial stewardship.