Documentation of Antibiotic Stewardship (ABS)-interventions during proactive audit of antibiotic use

Proactive audit of antibiotic use ensures quality of prescribing and can improve outcome in patients with infections. A rational, individualized therapy is being defined in interdisciplinary cooperation on the basis of clinical, laboratory, radiological and microbiological examination findings. By fostering targeted antibiotic therapy proactive audit reduces adverse effects and contributes to drug therapy safety and subsequently to patient safety. A proactive audit of antibiotic use is performed weekly on four intensive care units at the University Hospital Dresden by a infectious disease specialist a pharmacist and the attending physicians. Patient-related therapy adjustments were systematically documented over a 4-month period; antibiotic use before and after audit as well as ABS strategies (de-escalation, oral switch, duration of treatment, dose and administration optimization) were analyzed. Both targeted therapy and interventions regarding the duration of treatment led to a reduction in the prescribing of broad spectrum antibiotics by 20%. Routine interdisciplinary proactive audit of antibiotic use with intervention and feedback increases guideline-adherent therapy and process quality.