Article: Leveraging implementation science to advance antibiotic stewardship practice and research

Authors: Daniel J Livorsi, Mari-Lynn Drainoni, Heather Schacht Reisinger, Neha Nanda, Jessina C McGregor, Tamar F Barlam, Andrew M Morris, Julia E Szymczak

Journal: Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2022 Feb;43(2):139-146

Excerpt:
Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medications, and there is evidence to guide the optimal use of these agents for most situations encountered in clinical medicine, including for both treatment and prophylaxis. Nevertheless, clinicians routinely prescribe antibiotics in ways that diverge from this evidence, such as prescribing them when not indicated, for durations longer than necessary, or selecting broad-spectrum antibiotics when a narrower-spectrum agent would suffice. This overuse of antibiotics contributes to the public health crisis of antibiotic resistance while exposing patients to potential antibiotic-related harms.

Antibiotic stewardship refers to the coordinated effort to improve how antibiotics are prescribed by clinicians. To achieve this goal, antibiotic stewardship leverages different practices, such as prospective audit-and-feedback, prior authorization, education, clinical decision support, and rapid diagnostics.

Link to journal online: https://bit.ly/3w5LUnE