The Worldwide Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children (ARPEC) point prevalence survey: developing hospital-quality indicators of antibiotic prescribing for children.

Previously, web-based tools for cross-sectional antimicrobial point prevalence surveys (PPSs) have been used in adults to develop indicators of quality improvement. We aimed to determine the feasibility of developing similar quality indicators of improved antimicrobial prescribing focusing specifically on hospitalized neonates and children worldwide. A standardized antimicrobial PPS method was employed. Included were all inpatient children and neonates receiving an antimicrobial at 8:00 am on the day of the PPS. Denominators included the total number of inpatients. A web-based application was used for data entry, validation and reporting. We analysed 2012 data from 226 hospitals (H) in 41 countries (C) from Europe (174H; 24C), Africa (6H; 4C), Asia (25H; 8C), Australia (6H), Latin America (11H; 3C) and North America (4H). Of 17,693 admissions, 6499 (36.7%) inpatients received at least one antimicrobial, but this varied considerably between wards and regions. Potential indicators included very high broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing in children of mainly ceftriaxone (ranked first in Eastern Europe, 31.3%; Asia, 13.0%; Southern Europe, 9.8%), cefepime (ranked third in North America, 7.8%) and meropenem (ranked first in Latin America, 13.1%). The survey identified worryingly high use of critically important antibiotics for hospital-acquired infections in neonates (34.9%; range from 14.2% in Africa to 68.0% in Latin America) compared with children (28.3%; range from 14.5% in Africa to 48.9% in Latin America). Parenteral administration was very common among children in Asia (88%), Latin America (81%) and Europe (67%). Documentation of the reasons for antibiotic prescribing was lowest in Latin America (52%). Prolonged surgical prophylaxis rates ranged from 78% (Europe) to 84% (Latin America). Simple web-based PPS tools provide a feasible method to identify areas for improvement of antibiotic use, to set benchmarks and to monitor future interventions in hospitalized neonates and children. To our knowledge, this study has derived the first global quality indicators for antibiotic use in hospitalized neonates and children.

Versporten A ，Bielicki J ，Drapier N ，Sharland M ，Goossens H ，ARPEC project group ... -  《-》

Antimicrobial consumption and resistance in adult hospital inpatients in 53 countries: results of an internet-based global point prevalence survey.

The Global Point Prevalence Survey (Global-PPS) established an international network of hospitals to measure antimicrobial prescribing and resistance worldwide. We aimed to assess antimicrobial prescribing and resistance in hospital inpatients. We used a standardised surveillance method to collect detailed data about antimicrobial prescribing and resistance from hospitals worldwide, which were grouped by UN region. The internet-based survey included all inpatients (adults, children, and neonates) receiving an antimicrobial who were on the ward at 0800 h on one specific day between January and September, 2015. Hospitals were classified as primary, secondary, tertiary (including infectious diseases hospitals), and paediatric hospitals. Five main ward types were defined: medical wards, surgical wards, intensive-care units, haematology oncology wards, and medical transplantation (bone marrow or solid transplants) wards. Data recorded included patient characteristics, antimicrobials received, diagnosis, therapeutic indication according to predefined lists, and markers of prescribing quality (eg, whether a stop or review date were recorded, and whether local prescribing guidelines existed and were adhered to). We report findings for adult inpatients. The Global-PPS for 2015 included adult data from 303 hospitals in 53 countries, including eight lower-middle-income and 17 upper-middle-income countries. 86 776 inpatients were admitted to 3315 adult wards, of whom 29 891 (34·4%) received at least one antimicrobial. 41 213 antimicrobial prescriptions were issued, of which 36 792 (89·3%) were antibacterial agents for systemic use. The top three antibiotics prescribed worldwide were penicillins with β-lactamase inhibitors, third-generation cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones. Carbapenems were most frequently prescribed in Latin America and west and central Asia. Of patients who received at least one antimicrobial, 5926 (19·8%) received a targeted antibacterial treatment for systemic use, and 1769 (5·9%) received a treatment targeting at least one multidrug-resistant organism. The frequency of health-care-associated infections was highest in Latin America (1518 [11·9%]) and east and south Asia (5363 [10·1%]). Overall, the reason for treatment was recorded in 31 694 (76·9%) of antimicrobial prescriptions, and a stop or review date in 15 778 (38·3%). Local antibiotic guidelines were missing for 7050 (19·2%) of the 36 792 antibiotic prescriptions, and guideline compliance was 77·4%. The Global-PPS showed that worldwide surveillance can be accomplished with voluntary participation. It provided quantifiable measures to assess and compare the quantity and quality of antibiotic prescribing and resistance in hospital patients worldwide. These data will help to improve the quality of antibiotic prescribing through education and practice changes, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries that have no tools to monitor antibiotic prescribing in hospitals. bioMérieux.

Versporten A ，Zarb P ，Caniaux I ，Gros MF ，Drapier N ，Miller M ，Jarlier V ，Nathwani D ，Goossens H ，Global-PPS network ... -  《Lancet Global Health》

Using a simple point-prevalence survey to define appropriate antibiotic prescribing in hospitalised children across the UK.

The National Health Service England, Commissioning for Quality and Innovation for Antimicrobial Resistance (CQUIN AMR) aims to reduce the total antibiotic consumption and the use of certain broad-spectrum antibiotics in secondary care. However, robust baseline antibiotic use data are lacking for hospitalised children. In this study, we aim to describe, compare and explain the prescription patterns of antibiotics within and between paediatric units in the UK and to provide a baseline for antibiotic prescribing for future improvement using CQUIN AMR guidance. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a point prevalence survey (PPS) in 61 paediatric units across the UK. The standardised study protocol from the Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children (ARPEC) project was used. All inpatients under 18 years of age present in the participating hospital on the day of the study were included except neonates. A total of 1247 (40.9%) of 3047 children hospitalised on the day of the PPS were on antibiotics. The proportion of children receiving antibiotics showed a wide variation between both district general and tertiary hospitals, with 36.4% ( 95% CI 33.4% to 39.4%) and 43.0% (95% CI 40.9% to 45.1%) of children prescribed antibiotics, respectively. About a quarter of children on antibiotic therapy received either a medical or surgical prophylaxis with parenteral administration being the main prescribed route for antibiotics (>60% of the prescriptions for both types of hospitals). General paediatrics units were surprisingly high prescribers of critical broad-spectrum antibiotics, that is, carbapenems and piperacillin-tazobactam. We provide a robust baseline for antibiotic prescribing in hospitalised children in relation to current national stewardship efforts in the UK. Repeated PPS with further linkage to resistance data needs to be part of the antibiotic stewardship strategy to tackle the issue of suboptimal antibiotic use in hospitalised children.

Gharbi M ，Doerholt K ，Vergnano S ，Bielicki JA ，Paulus S ，Menson E ，Riordan A ，Lyall H ，Patel SV ，Bernatoniene J ，Versporten A ，Heginbothom M ，Goossens H ，Sharland M ，ARPEC project Group members ... -  《BMJ Open》

High Rates of Prescribing Antimicrobials for Prophylaxis in Children and Neonates: Results From the Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children Point Prevalence Survey.

This study was conducted to assess the variation in prescription practices for systemic antimicrobial agents used for prophylaxis among pediatric patients hospitalized in 41 countries worldwide. Using the standardized Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children Point Prevalence Survey protocol, a cross-sectional point-prevalence survey was conducted at 226 pediatric hospitals in 41 countries from October 1 to November 30, 2012. Overall, 17693 pediatric patients were surveyed and 36.7% of them received antibiotics (n = 6499). Of 6818 inpatient children, 2242 (32.9%) received at least 1 antimicrobial for prophylactic use. Of 11899 prescriptions for antimicrobials, 3400 (28.6%) were provided for prophylactic use. Prophylaxis for medical diseases was the indication in 73.4% of cases (2495 of 3400), whereas 26.6% of prescriptions were for surgical diseases (905 of 3400). In approximately half the cases (48.7% [1656 of 3400]), a combination of 2 or more antimicrobials was prescribed. The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics (BSAs), which included tetracyclines, macrolides, lincosamides, and sulfonamides/trimethoprim, was high (51.8% [1761 of 3400]). Broad-spectrum antibiotic use for medical prophylaxis was more common in Asia (risk ratio [RR], 1.322; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.202-1.653) and more restricted in Australia (RR, 0.619; 95% CI, 0.521-0.736). Prescription of BSA for surgical prophylaxis also varied according to United Nations region. Finally, a high percentage of surgical patients (79.7% [721 of 905]) received their prophylaxis for longer than 1 day. A high proportion of hospitalized children received prophylactic BSAs. This represents a clear target for quality improvement. Collectively speaking, it is critical to reduce total prophylactic prescribing, BSA use, and prolonged prescription.

Hufnagel M ，Versporten A ，Bielicki J ，Drapier N ，Sharland M ，Goossens H ，ARPEC Project Group ... -  《-》

THE GLOBAL POINT PREVALENCE SURVEY (PPS) OF ANTIMICROBIAL USE AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AMONG HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN IN GEORGIA.

Korinteli IG ，Mchedlishvili I ，Javakhadze M ，Versporten A ，Goossens H ，Phagava H ，Pagava K ... -  《-》