Pharmacoeconomic and antimicrobial stewardship analysis in waste management: Beyond switching drug administration route

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of switch therapy of antimicrobials on cost reduction (pharmacoeconomic analysis) and hospital waste generation by switching from intravenous to oral therapy. This is a cross-sectional, observational, and retrospective study. Data from 2019, 2020, and 2021, provided by the clinical pharmacy service of a teaching hospital in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul, were analyzed. The variables analyzed were intravenous and oral antimicrobials, frequency, duration of use, and total treatment time according to the institutional protocols. An estimate of the amount of waste not generated from the change of administration route was calculated by weighing the kits using a precision balance in grams. During the analyzed period, 275 switch therapy of antimicrobials were performed, resulting in US$ 55,256.00 of savings. The main antimicrobial classes that underwent changes were cephalosporins (25.1%), penicillins (22.55%), and quinolones (17.45%). Changing from intravenous to oral therapy avoided the generation of 170,631g of waste, including needles, syringes, infusion bags, equipment, reconstituted solution bottles, and medication. The change from intravenous to the oral route of antimicrobials is safe for the patient, economically effective, and significantly reduces waste generation.