Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance occurs due to the propensity of microbial pathogens to develop resistance to antibiotics over time. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been developed in response to this growing crisis, to limit unnecessary antibiotic prescription through initiatives such as education-based seminars, prescribing guidelines, and rapid respiratory pathogen (RRP) testing. Paediatric patients who present to the emergency setting with respiratory symptoms are a particularly high-risk population susceptible to inappropriate antibiotic prescribing behaviours and are therefore an ideal cohort for focused ASPs. The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy and safety of ASPs in this clinical context. A systematic search of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews was conducted to review the current evidence. Thirteen studies were included in the review and these studies assessed a range of stewardship interventions and outcome measures. Overall, ASPs reduced the rates of antibiotic prescription, increased the prescription of narrow-spectrum antibiotics, and shortened the duration of antibiotic therapy. Multimodal interventions that were education-based and those that used RRP testing were found to be the most effective. Whilst we found strong evidence that ASPs are effective in reducing antibiotic prescribing, further studies are required to assess whether they translate to equivalent clinical outcomes.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to present a growing public health challenge in an era of widespread antibiotic availability [1]
Strains including MRSA and VRE are of particular concern as they are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in hospital and long-term care facilities and have recently become a major community-acquired pathogen [3,4]
Inappropriate rates of antibiotic prescription have been observed across several healthcare settings, from primary to secondary care, with a particular focus being placed on primary care [8]
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to present a growing public health challenge in an era of widespread antibiotic availability [1]. Strains including MRSA and VRE are of particular concern as they are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in hospital and long-term care facilities and have recently become a major community-acquired pathogen [3,4]. Emerging strains such as Campylobacter species and Streptococcus pneumoniae pose a moderate to high risk, especially to vulnerable populations including preterm infants, those that are immunocompromised and the elderly [2,5,6]. Antibiotics should, be used sparingly where there is a sufficient clinical indication or where the risk of missing a significant bacterial infection may cause significant morbidity or mortality
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