Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs Research Articles

Determinants of pharmacists' confidence to participate in antimicrobial stewardship: A confirmatory factor analysis.

Pharmacists are essential members of hospital antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) teams. A lack of self-perceived confidence can limit pharmacists' involvement and contributions. Pharmacists working in AMS have reported a lack of confidence. There is currently a lack of validated measures to assess pharmacists' self-perceived confidence when working in AMS and contributors to this confidence. This study aimed to identify variables contributing to pharmacist self-perceived confidence and validate an AMS hospital pharmacist survey tool using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Responses from a survey of Australian and French hospital pharmacists were used to undertake CFA and path analysis on factors related to pharmacists' self-perceived confidence. It was hypothesized that pharmacists' self-perceived confidence would be impacted by time working in AMS, perceived importance of AMS programmes, perceived barriers to participating in AMS and current participation. CFA demonstrated a good model fit between the factors. Items included in the model loaded well to their respective factors with acceptable reliability. Path analysis demonstrated that time working in AMS had a significant impact on pharmacists' self-perceived confidence, while perceived barriers had a negatively significant relationship. Pharmacy participation in AMS and perceived importance of AMS programmes had a non-significant impact. Findings demonstrated that the survey tool showed good validity and identified factors that can impact pharmacists' self-perceived confidence when working in hospital AMS programmes. Having a validated survey tool can identify factors that can reduce pharmacists' self-perceived confidence. Strategies can then be developed to address these factors and subsequently improve pharmacists' self-perceived confidence.

Evaluation of Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: Implementation, Process, Impact, and Outcomes, Review of Systematic Reviews.

Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASP) were introduced in healthcare as a public health priority to promote appropriate prescribing of antimicrobials, to reduce adverse events related to antimicrobials, as well as to control the escalating challenges of antimicrobial resistance. To deliver aimed outcome objectives, ASPs involve multiple connected implementation process measures. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate both concepts of ASPs. Guided by PRISMA frames, published systematic reviews (SR) focusing on ASPs restricted to secondary and tertiary healthcare were evaluated over the past 10 years involving all age groups. Out of 265 identified SR studies, 63 met the inclusion criteria. The majority were conducted in Europe and North America, with limited studies from other regions. In the reviewed studies, all age groups were examined, although they were conducted mainly on adults when compared to children and infants. Both process and outcomes measures of ASPs were examined equally and simultaneously through 25 different concepts, dominated by efficacy, antimicrobial resistance, and economic impact, while information technology as well as role of pharmacy and behavioral factors were equally examined. The main broad conclusions from the review were that, across the globe, ASPs demonstrated effectiveness, proved efficacy, and confirmed efficiency, while focused evaluation advocated that developed countries should target medium- and small-sized hospitals while developing countries should continue rolling ASPs across healthcare facilities. Additionally, the future of ASPs should focus on embracing evolving information technology to bridge the gaps in knowledge, skills, and attitude, as well as to enhance appropriate decision making.

Implementation of an antibiotic resistance surveillance tool in Madagascar, the TSARA project: a prospective, observational, multicentre, hospital-based study protocol

IntroductionAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a significant public health threat. Without any interventions, it has been modelled that AMR will account for an estimated 10 million deaths annually by 2050,...

Point prevalence of antibiotic use: a systematic review (2021-2023)

Point prevalence surveys (PPSs) provide valuable insights into several aspects of hospital prescription trends, specifically regarding antibiotic usage. Hence, this review was conducted to investigate the point prevalence of antibiotic use. This was an updated systematic review of the previous two years addressing studies conducted between the years 2021 and 2023 regarding the point prevalence of antibiotic use. Studies regarding the current topic were examined using the PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases. The terms were employed in different combinations including the \"Point prevalence, survey, antibiotics use, antimicrobial prescribing, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship; surveillance, hospital, private sector, global health security\". Publications in full text were used as the inclusion criterion. Out of the 85 acquired articles, only nine were deemed suitable for inclusion. The analysis encompassed more than 10,331 hospitalized patients in different regions. This systematic review demonstrated a high point prevalence of antibiotic use in hospitals. The most prevalent clinical indications were pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infections, sepsis, and community-acquired infections. Ceftriaxones were the predominant antibiotics provided to patients. These hospitals have a high incidence of use of antibiotics, but they lack institutional frameworks and protocols to ensure optimal antibiotic use. The study furnishes the requisite data for enhancing forthcoming antibiotic utilization in hospitals and mitigating antimicrobial resistance. These findings emphasize the importance of ongoing efforts to improve the responsible use of antibiotics by implementing effective antimicrobial stewardship programs in hospitals, ultimately leading to decreased antimicrobial resistance in the country.

Assessment of Adherence to the Core Elements of Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs: A Survey of Fourteen Hospitals in Nigeria

Introduction Antimicrobial resistance occurs when antimicrobial drugs are no longer effective against the target microorganism and this poses a global public health threat especially in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Nigeria. This study aimed to assess hospitals core elements AMS implementation in 14 secondary and tertiary hospitals in Nigeria. Methods Centre for Initiative and Development (CFID) in collaboration with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), employed cross-sectional intervention study across 14 target hospitals in Nigeria. The study adopted the WHO Core Elements Hospital AMS self-assessment tool. Paired-samples t-test was used and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significance. Results Results from the baseline assessment revealed inadequate implementation of AMS programs in most hospitals, emphasizing key deficiencies in areas such as leadership commitment, tracking antibiotic use, and reporting outcomes. However, following CFID AMS intervention, a significant positive shift in performance of hospitals AMS core elements was observed, with hospitals showing improvements in leadership commitment, accountability, and prescriber education. The paired-samples t-test demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in the measured variable, reinforcing the impact of the intervention and a substantial increase in mean scores of post-intervention. Conclusions It is imperative to acknowledge the potential implications of these positive shifts, not only in the context of individual hospitals but also in the broader landscape of public health. Addressing the challenges identified in this study is crucial for mitigating the global public health threat posed by antimicrobial resistance, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Future research and continued collaborative efforts will be essential to sustain and further improve the effectiveness of AMS interventions, ultimately contributing to the global effort to combat antimicrobial resistance.

The Role of Clinical Pharmacists in Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs): A Systematic Review.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health threat, increasing deaths and healthcare costs. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have been implemented to optimize antibiotic use and curb resistance. This systematic review aimed to summarize evidence on the role and impact of pharmacists in hospital ASPs. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across databases to identify relevant studies published from 2016 to 2023. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising global observational and randomized clinical trials. Pharmacists performed various stewardship activities, including prospective audits, formulary management, de-escalation, guideline development, and education. Pharmacist-led interventions significantly improved antibiotic prescribing, reduced unnecessary antibiotic use, optimized therapy, and enhanced outcomes. Multiple studies found that pharmacist reviews decreased the time to optimal antibiotics and improved guideline compliance without affecting readmissions or revisits. De-escalation programs safely reduced antibiotic duration and length of stay. Acceptance rates for recommendations were high. Pharmacist stewardship curbed overall antibiotic use, costs, and duration across hospital departments, leading to savings. While most studies showed positive impacts, fewer detected significant changes in resistance or mortality over short periods. More research is needed, but current evidence demonstrates that pharmacists play critical roles in ASPs, leading to improved antibiotic use and patient outcomes. These findings support integrating pharmacists into stewardship activities, significantly extending programs to ambulatory settings.

Antibiotic use among hospitalised patients in Sierra Leone: a national point prevalence survey using the WHO survey methodology

ObjectiveInappropriate use of antibiotics is a major driver of antibiotic resistance. A few studies conducted in Africa have documented that about half of hospitalised patients who receive antibiotics should not...

Pharmacist insights into antimicrobial stewardship: A social marketing approach

BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance is a worldwide public health problem. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) optimize antimicrobial use within hospitals. The social marketing framework has been used in analyzing systems and devising best practices. Objective(s): To use the social marketing framework to explore pharmacist experiences and perceptions of structural, behavioral and interventional strategies that support ASPs. MethodsA qualitative approach utilizing semi-structured individual interviews was utilized. A purposive sample of hospital pharmacists was invited to participate. An interview guide was constructed to describe participant experience and perceptions regarding ASPs in their institutions based on elements of social marketing: Behavioral goals; Customer Insight; Segmentation and Targeting; Competition; Exchange; and Marketing and Interventional mix. Interviews were recorded digitally and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was conducted using deductive methods. A combination of case-based and code-based approaches allowed individual and holistic analyses respectively. Codes were collated into themes and subthemes. ResultsSaturation of themes occurred with 25 interviews from 17 hospitals. ASP metrics included: consumption of antibiotics using days of therapy and defined daily dose, rates of C. difficile and multidrug resistant organisms, resistance patterns, and provider adherence to the ASP. Active stewardship tools such as preauthorization, and prospective feedback/audit were preferred over passive tools such as order sets and automatic stop orders. A physician champion and a clinical pharmacist with infectious disease training were core elements in the multidisciplinary team. Despite certain areas being considered key for stewardship, participants emphasized a hospital-wide approach including outpatient departments; discharge stewardship emerged as a primary theme. Leadership supported ASPs with finances, rapid and novel diagnostics, Clinical Decision Support Systems, mobile technology, and continuous staff training. ConclusionsThe social marketing framework has been used to explore pharmacist perceptions that inform successful qualities including metrics, restriction methods, personnel, benefits, barriers, training needs/modes, and promotional avenues that support ASPs in hospitals.

Point Prevalence Survey of Antimicrobial Use and Resistance during the COVID-19 Era among Hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the Implications.

The inappropriate prescribing of antimicrobials increases antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which poses an appreciable threat to public health, increasing morbidity and mortality. Inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing includes their prescribing in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, despite limited evidence of bacterial infections or coinfections. Knowledge of current antimicrobial utilization in Saudi Arabia is currently limited. Consequently, the objective of this study was to document current antimicrobial prescribing patterns among Saudi hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study included patients with or without COVID-19 who were admitted to five hospitals in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Data were gathered using the Global PPS methodology and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Out of 897 hospitalized patients, 518 were treated with antibiotics (57.7%), with an average of 1.9 antibiotics per patient. There were 174 culture reports collected, representing 36.5% of all cases. The most common indication for antibiotics use was community-acquired infections, accounting for 61.4% of all cases. 'Watch' antibiotics were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics, with the cephalosporins and carbapenems representing 38.7% of all antibiotics prescribed, followed by the penicillins (23.2%). Notably, Piperacillin/Tazobactam and Azithromycin were prescribed at relatively higher rates for COVID-19 patients. These findings highlight the need for continuous efforts to optimize the rational use of antibiotics through instigating appropriate antimicrobial stewardship programs in hospitals and, as a result, reduce AMR in the country.

Deep Dive Into Gaps and Barriers to Implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Hospitals in Latin America.

Antimicrobial resistance has worsened in Latin America. There is an urgent need to understand the development of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) and the barriers to implementing effective ASPs in light of limited national action plans or policies to promote ASPs in the region. We performed a descriptive mixed-methods study of ASPs in 5 Latin American countries in March-July 2022. An electronic questionnaire with an associated scoring system (hospital ASP self-assessment) was used, and ASP development was classified based on the scores (inadequate, 0-25; basic, 26-50; intermediate, 51-75; or advanced, 76-100). Interviews among healthcare workers (HCWs) involved in antimicrobial stewardship (AS) inquired about behavioral and organizational factors that influence AS activities. Interview data were coded into themes. Results from the ASP self-assessment and interviews were integrated to create an explanatory framework. Twenty hospitals completed the self-assessment, and 46 AS stakeholders from these hospitals were interviewed. ASP development was inadequate/basic in 35% of hospitals, intermediate in 50%, and advanced in 15%. For-profit hospitals had higher scores than not-for-profit hospitals. Interview data validated the self-assessment findings and provided further insight into ASP implementation challenges, which included limited formal hospital leadership support, inadequate staffing and tools to perform AS work more efficiently, limited awareness of AS principles by HCWs, and limited training opportunities. We identified several barriers to ASP development in Latin America, suggesting the need to create accurate business cases for ASPs to obtain the necessary funding for their effective implementation and sustainability.

Antifungal stewardship in practice: Insights from a prospective audit and feedback program.

To identify characteristics of antifungal prospective audit and feedback (PAF) and to compare rates of PAF recommendation and acceptance between antifungal and antibiotic agents. Retrospective cohort study of antifungal and antibiotic audits by a children's hospital antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) from November 1, 2020, to October 31, 2022. Antimicrobial audit data were retrieved from the ASP data warehouse. We characterized antifungal PAF using descriptive statistics. We then compared the overall rates of PAF recommendation and recommendation acceptance between antifungals and antibiotics. We also compared the differences in antifungal and antibiotic PAF recommendation and acceptance rates across various factors, including infectious problem, medical service, and recommendation type. Of 10,402 antimicrobial audits identified during the study period, 8,599 (83%) were for antibiotics and 1,803 (17%) were for antifungals. The highest antifungal recommendation rates were for liposomal amphotericin B, antifungals used for sepsis or respiratory tract infection, and antifungals prescribed in the cardiovascular intensive care unit. The rate of PAF recommendation was higher for antibiotics than for antifungals (29% vs 21%; P < .001); however, the rates of recommendation acceptance were similar. Recommendations to discontinue or for medication monitoring were more common for antifungals. Our analysis of antifungal PAF identified key opportunities to improve antifungal use, including the optimized use of specific agents and targeted use by certain medical services. Moreover, antifungal PAF, despite identifying fewer recommendations compared to antibiotic PAF, were associated with similarly high rates of acceptance, highlighting a promising opportunity for antifungal stewardship.

Development and evaluation of a continuous quality improvement programme for antimicrobial stewardship in six hospitals in Uganda

BackgroundAppropriate antimicrobial use is essential for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). Ugandan hospitals are making efforts to improve antibiotic use, but improvements have not been sufficiently documented and evaluated.MethodsSix Ugandan hospitals implemented...

Teams in transition: Increasing role of advanced practice providers in inpatient antimicrobial use

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship strategies must be tailored to effectively engage prescribers with distinct training, experiences, and career paths. Advanced practice providers (APPs) have taken on increasing roles as primary team members in acute-care hospitals, but the impact of this practice shift on antimicrobial prescribing is unknown. We describe longitudinal trends in antimicrobial days of therapy (DOT) by attributed provider type in 3 hospitals. Methods: We performed a retrospective time-series analysis of antimicrobial use for the 7-year period of July 2015–June 2022 to investigate the changes by provider type at 3 hospitals: a major university hospital and 2 community hospitals. DOT, antibacterial, and antifungal agent groups were defined using National Healthcare Safety Network methods. We included anti-influenza and antiherpesvirus agents in the antiviral group. We defined protected agents as those targeted by hospital antimicrobial stewardship program policy (eg, requiring preauthorization). Provider type was defined by electronic health record user profiles in 3 categories: physician, trainees (residents, fellows and medical students), and APPs (nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse anesthetists). We evaluated DOT per 1,000 days present over time by agent group to assess quarterly rate trends. Then, we calculated the percentage of total DOT by provider group. We used multinomial logistic regression to measure changes in percentage DOT across the clinician groups over time using physicians as the referent. Results: Across hospitals and provider groups, we observed an overall decrease in use rates for antibacterial and protected agents (17% each) and increased use rates for antiviral agents (38%) and antifungal agents (4%) (Table 1). Baseline distribution of DOT by provider group and change in distribution over time varied by hospital and agent group (Fig. and Table 2). The largest increases in percentage DOT attributed to APPs compared with physicians occurred in the university hospital with the following average increases per quarter: 1.5% for antibacterials, 3.9% for antivirals, 3.3% for antifungals, and 3.8% for protected agents (Table 3). Community hospitals had higher initial percentage DOT attributed to physicians, but both hospitals experienced increased percentage DOT attributed to APPs. Percentage DOT attributed to trainees varied significantly across agent groups and hospitals. Conclusions: Hospitals had differing baseline patterns of DOT attributed to provider groups, but all experienced increases in DOT attributed to APPs. APPs have increasing involvement in antimicrobial use decisions and should be engaged in future antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.Disclosures: None

Implementation of A Year-Long Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in A 227-Bed Community Hospital in Southern Italy.

Healthcare-Acquired Infections (HAIs) are serious healthcare complications affecting hospital stay, in-hospital mortality, and costs. Root cause analysis has identified the inappropriate use of antibiotics as the main causative factor in the expansion of multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDRO) in our hospital. An Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) program was implemented to optimize antibiotic use, limit the development of resistance, improve therapeutic efficacy and clinical outcomes, and reduce costs. The stewardship strategies were: antimicrobial oversight on "critical" antibiotics; the development of hospital guidelines on antibiotic selection with the production of a consensus document; the implementation of clinical and management control algorithms with visual impact and Business Intelligence methods; training and updating; and the monitoring of outcome measures and process indicators. Clinical outcomes: length of stay reduced by 0.23 days, hospital readmission/first month rates decreased by 19%, and mortality for infections reduced by 8.8%. Microbiological Outcomes: Clostridium Difficile colitis incidence reduced by 9.1%.Economic Outcomes: Reduction in antimicrobial costs by 35% on average fee/discharged patient. The systematic application of the AMS program in a small hospital led to multiple improvements in clinical, microbiological, and economic outcome measures. The analysis of the core indicators for our hospital AMS program showed a significant adherence to the model and hospital recommendations.

A cross-sectional study of hospital antimicrobial stewardship programmes in the COVID-19 era.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to be a global public health issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic; however, unprecedented demands on hospital antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) potentially altered their core activities. We sought to understand how ASPs have been involved in and impacted by the pandemic. The 2021 Ontario ASP Landscape Survey was developed based on previous provincial questionnaires and emerging literature on the impact of COVID-19 on hospital ASPs. After pre-testing and piloting, the online questionnaire was distributed to hospital antimicrobial stewardship practitioners in the fall of 2021. Descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis were performed. The response rate was 78% (98/125 organizations); 96% (94/98) of organizations had or were in the process of formalizing an ASP and 53% (50/94) reported designated funding/resources. Despite 82% reporting no change in dedicated full-time equivalents during the pandemic, ASPs were frequently involved in developing treatment guidelines/clinical pathways (51%), anticipating/managing drug shortages (46%) and obtaining investigational use drugs (32%). While many core ASP activities continued, prospective audit and feedback and prescriber education were modified or suspended by 43% and 40% of programmes, respectively. Decreased frequency, adaptation of activities (i.e. virtual or other technology) and challenges with staffing/resources were commonly reported themes. Knowledge translation (KT) activities and 'collaboration and coordination' also emerged as salient themes. Hospital antimicrobial stewardship practitioners in Ontario have made significant contributions to the pandemic response while continuing to deliver adapted ASP services, despite resource constraints. Moving forward, ASPs will need to continue building capacity while leveraging broader networks to advance the antimicrobial stewardship agenda.

1753. Impact of a Pharmacist-Driven Home Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program Pilot within a Large Community Health System

Abstract Background Home Hospital (HH) is a unique and rapidly expanding care model that allows patients to receive medical therapy and monitoring through telehealth communication and nursing visits, and there are currently no published studies evaluating antimicrobial stewardship interventions in the HH setting. The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship pilot for the HH program. Methods This was a pre-post quasi-experimental study of adult patients enrolled in HH program between January through March in 2021 (control cohort) and in 2022 (intervention cohort), who received antibiotics (oral/intravenous) during their HH admission. Patients on long-term prophylactic antimicrobials, antifungals, external antimicrobials, or mycobacterial treatment were excluded. The antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist performed prospective audit and feedback and provided recommendations to clinicians through the electronic medical record. The primary endpoint was antibiotic use (days of therapy per 1000 patient-days). Secondary endpoints included broad-spectrum antibiotic usage; appropriateness of antibiotic indication, dosing, and duration; compliance with the institution’s outpatient antibiotic reference guide or outpatient intravenous antibiotic therapy (OPAT) monitoring; treatment failure; antibiotic-associated adverse effects; and cost of antibiotic therapy. Results The study included 73 and 127 patients in the control and intervention group, respectively (Figure 1). On average, the pharmacist reviewed 8 eligible patients/day. Interventions were generally well received by HH providers (Figure 2). There was no significant difference in the primary outcome. More inappropriate antibiotic indication was identified in the intervention group (46 [36%] vs. 15 [19%], p=0.01), associated with post-surgical infection prophylaxis after orthopedic procedures (Figure 3). Other secondary outcomes did not vary significantly between the groups. Figure 1:Study inclusion flowchartFigure 2:Intervention breakdownFigure 3:Infection types Conclusion The pilot allows for better understanding of outpatient and HH antibiotic prescribing practices to provide targeted interventions, and suggests the need for additional antimicrobial stewardship involvement to optimize antibiotic therapy in this novel care setting. Disclosures Elizabeth B. Hirsch, PharmD, FCCP, FIDSA, Melinta: Advisor/Consultant|MeMed: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Advisor/Consultant|Merck: Grant/Research Support.

931. All Hands on Deck: Incorporation of Infectious Diseases Pharmacy Trainees in a Community Hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Program

Abstract Background Community hospitals may have challenges implementing core elements of antimicrobial stewardship (ASP) due to lack of ID trained pharmacists (PharmD). The COVID-19 pandemic compounded these challenges with constrained resources and staffing. The pandemic also saw a rise in antimicrobial use (AU) and brought forth novel therapeutics, thus increasing the need for robust ASP. We established a community ASP rotation for ID PharmD fellows during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A community ASP rotation was established at a 151-bed community hospital. ID PharmD trainees rotated with the ID clinician and were responsible for daily prospective audit and feedback (PAF) under close supervision of the ID clinician. Fellows were involved in pandemic response, including protocol development and restrictions for COVID-19 therapeutics. Results A community ASP rotation was successfully implemented (Figure 1). For PAF activities, the most common indications were CAP (19%), HAP (3%), IAI (24%), SSTI (22%) and UTI (19%). Average DOT/1000 was 340.4 per quarter with increases each COVID-19 surge (Figure 2). Empiric AU was protocol adherent 77% of the time and 23% required ASP changes. ASP Interventions included change to protocol (23%), bug drug mismatch (2%), de-escalation (15%), duration change (25%), IV to PO (16%), discontinuation (19%). Fellows successfully developed protocols and managed restrictions for remdesivir, baricitinib, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibodies in coordination with the ID clinician and assisted in mass vaccination campaign protocols. Conclusion A community ASP rotation was successfully established and sustained during COVID-19. Fellows received hands on experience and performed PAF under close supervision. The program enhanced ID clinician capabilities while leveraging PharmD expertise at a time when staffing and resources were stretched thin. The rotation provided firsthand experience in pandemic preparedness and response. This educational opportunity assisted in maintaining a strong ASP in a community hospital setting while preparing trainees with experiences to assist them throughout their future careers. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.

945. Development of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Central and South America

Abstract Background There is a need to assess current development of hospital Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) in Latin America. Methods Cross-sectional evaluation of ASPs using a standardized and previously validated self-assessment tool derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship (AS). The assessment was deployed to 40 hospitals in Panama, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, and Argentina in 3/2022 through a regional research network. The assessment included 94 questions, with each question including a graded response (meets criteria, partially meets criteria, does not meet criteria, and in some, not applicable). Results 22 public and 16 private hospitals completed the assessment (95% response rate), 10% and 25% of which were small hospitals (&amp;lt; 110 beds), respectively. 82% were academic, and all have an Infection Prevention and Control program/committee. &amp;gt;70% of ASPs have a physician and pharmacist involved, although 65% reported no salary support for AS activities. Only 13% and 29% of AS pharmacists and physicians, respectively, met recommended full-time equivalent/bed ratios; and 76% lacked information and technology (IT) support. 50% indicated the AS committee did not meet regularly, and another 50% reported not including non-AS physicians in the committee. Most hospitals have implemented prior-authorization and post-prescription review and feedback, with much fewer reporting a process to alert of duplicate therapy and use of auto-stops. 89% reported regular access to new antibiotics. While most hospitals monitor antibiotic consumption, few evaluate trends and/or appropriateness of use. Treatment guidelines for most common infections were missing in up to 50% of hospitals, especially in public hospitals. Most respondents indicated their hospitals promote teamwork, and in the vast majority, recommendations from AS are valued. Stratification of results by private and public hospitals in Table. Table:Results of a self-assessment of antimicrobial stewardship activities at the facility level in 38 hospitals in Latin America. Conclusion We found several opportunities for improvement, which differed between private and public hospitals. Common barriers to both settings include access to IT support; better pharmacist and physician resource allocation, education, and monitoring of process and outcomes measures. Disclosures Sara E. Cosgrove, MD, Basilea: Member of Infection Adjudication Committee.

940. First situational diagnosis of the implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in Mexican Hospitals, 2021

Abstract Background The development of antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) can help to improve the quality of care and contain the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In Mexico, there is little evidence on the design, implementation and evaluation of hospital ASP. The objective of this study is to present a situational diagnosis of the ASP structure, processes implemented and monitoring of results obtained in a sample of Mexican hospitals. Methods An online survey directed to ASP teams was applied to a purposive sample of 40 hospitals that perform regular antimicrobial stewardship activities in Mexico, during the last trimester of 2021. The survey was based on the ‘core elements’ instruments developed by the CDC and WHO. Results Forty hospitals (62% public and 38% private) were surveyed in 13 states in Mexico regarding ASP basic elements. Infrastructure and Organization elements: on average 52% of these hospitals carry basic actions that refer to: written ASP document and annual plan (46%); allocated human resources (68%); availability of material resources (59%) and use of technological platforms (37%). Processes: development of hospital treatment guidelines (49%); educational interventions (40%); persuasive and feedback interventions (42%); and in greater proportion, restrictive interventions (77%). Monitoring activities: interventions (25%); antimicrobial consumption (73%) and AMR (85%) Conclusion This first diagnosis serves as a baseline to determine the current state of ASP implementation per hospital and in the country. It also reflects on the ASP heterogeneity, that should be addressed by national policies. The greatest challenge lies in the program governance, and the systematic monitoring of the implementation of ASP interventions. Disclosures Anahí Dreser, PhD, MSD: Grant/Research Support.

Antibiotics use evaluation among hospitalized adult patients at Jimma Medical Center, southwestern Ethiopia: the way to pave for antimicrobial stewardship

BackgroundAn irrational antibiotic use is a common problem in developing countries like Ethiopia, which makes empiric antibiotics use difficult. It is considered to be the greatest health problem in our time and future unless intervened. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the patterns of antibiotics use among hospitalized adult patients to pave the way for antimicrobial stewardship.MethodsA hospital-based prospective observational study was conducted at Jimma Medical Center, southwestern Ethiopia, from 30 October 2020 to 29 January 2021 with 360 adult hospitalized patients participating. A semi-structured questionnaire and consecutive sampling technique was used for data collection. The data were collected through medical record reviews and patient interviews. The collected data were entered into Epi-data and exported to SPSS® version 23.0 for analysis. Days of therapy (DOT) and essential medicine lists “Access, Watch, and Reserve (AWaRe)” antibiotics classification were used to assess antibiotic use pattern among participants.ResultsThe majority of study participants were females (55.3%), attended formal education (59.4%), and live in rural areas (61.4%) with mean age ± (SD) of 37.65 ± (16.75). The overall rate of antibiotics consumption during the study was 111 days of therapy per 100 bed-days and about two-thirds (66%) of the prescribed antibiotics were from the “Watch” group antibiotics. The indicator level of antibiotics use for “Access” group antibiotics was 34% in this study based on the World Health Organization Essential Medicine List. Cephalosporins were the most commonly used class of antibiotics (93.9%).ConclusionHigher antibiotics exposure and their consumption frequently observed among adult hospitalized patients in the study setting. There was a rapid increase in “Watch” group antibiotics use and about two-thirds of the prescribed antibiotics were from this group. The third-generation cephalosporin were the most commonly used class of antibiotics. Generally, higher consumption and inappropriate antibiotics use among hospitalized adult patients showed the need for urgent interventions by implementing Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs in hospitals.