Combating antimicrobial resistance: audits of practices to target actions

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a public health emergency requiring a concerted approach and motivating the implementation of antibiotic stewardship programmes. As part of an institutional project at the Centre hospitalier universitaire vaudois, we collected data on the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescriptions in various medical and surgical departments in order to identify areas for improvement. The results show that there is room for improvement and that there are differences between departments, particularly regarding surgical prophylaxis administered beyond the operating time, adaptation of the spectrum and duration. Prescribing appropriateness data is an essential complement to consumption data for adapting effective intervention strategies.