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Impact of a 4-year antimicrobial stewardship program implemented in a Greek tertiary hospital

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a 4-year antibiotic stewardship program (ASP) in a tertiary hospital. We monitored data for 2015 (pre-intervention) and 2016–2019 (post-intervention) about antibiotic consumption (DDD/100 bed days), Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs), resistance rates, length of stay (LOS), and annual antibiotic costs. Significant reductions were observed for total antibiotics/colistin/carbapenems/quinolones/tigecycline consumption and resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Considerable reductions occurred for LOS (4.18 [2015]/3.0 [2019] days), CDIs (1.47 [2015]/0.86 [2019] per 1000 patients), antibiotic cost/patient (39.45€ [2015]/23.69€ [2019]). The ASP was successful in reducing antibiotic consumption, antibiotic costs, length of hospital stay, and CDIs.

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Correspondence to Spyros Pournaras.

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Chrysou, K., Zarkotou, O., Kalofolia, S. et al. Impact of a 4-year antimicrobial stewardship program implemented in a Greek tertiary hospital. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 41, 127–132 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-021-04290-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-021-04290-7

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