Abstract
Background
Antibiotic overuse is associated with antibiotic resistance. We evaluated antibiotic utilization defined by days of therapy/1000 patient days (DOT/1000 PD) in various community hospitals across the United States.
Methods
Community hospitals within the Cardinal Health Drug Cost Opportunity Analytics database were evaluated for the availability of DOT/1000 PD data between 2012 to 2016 for overall and specific antibiotic use and the following classes: narrow‐spectrum β‐lactams (ampicillin, nafcillin, oxacillin, cefazolin, and cephalexin), non‐carbapenem antipseudomonal β‐lactams (piperacillin/tazobactam, ceftazidime, and cefepime), carbapenems, anti‐methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus agents (vancomycin, linezolid, daptomycin, and tigecycline), and fluoroquinolones. Antibiotic utilization and change in utilization during the study period was calculated using linear regression (β coefficient).
Results
Eighteen hospitals had antibiotic utilization data available. Hospitals were primarily urban (72%) with an average of 209 total beds and 22 intensive care unit beds. Mean number of pharmacists in these hospitals was nine with a mean pharmacist: bed ratio of 0.05. While all hospitals had antimicrobial stewardship programs established during the study period, only 78% and 22% had infectious diseases (ID) physician and ID pharmacist on staff, respectively. A decrease in antipseudomonal β‐lactams (excluding carbapenems) and fluoroquinolones was observed (β coefficients = −1.2 and −2.6, respectively), all other antibiotic classes had increased utilization.
Conclusion
Overall antibiotic utilization increased over 5 years. The increase in narrow‐spectrum β‐lactams utilization along with the reduction in the use of antipseudomonal β‐lactams and fluoroquinolones indicate appropriate antimicrobial stewardship. Institutional antibiotic utilization should be evaluated for appropriateness to limit the overuse of broad‐spectrum antibiotics in an effort to reduce resistance development.