Broad spectrum antibiotic stewardship by quality improvement methods.

Abstract

Background: With the majority of antibiotics being prescribed in primary care it is of utmost importance that antimicrobial stewardship principles are adhered to in order to slow down the incidence of antimicrobial resistance.

Objective: Broad spectrum antibiotic prescribing is often seen as a proxy marker of increasing resistance within a population and so it is important that they are used sparingly, to avoid drug-resistant bacteria developing.

Method: In Tameside and Glossop a novel approach, using quality improvement methods, was employed to allow the behaviour change to be sustained for a longer period. Practices submitted monthly broad spectrum usage data, and if over a set target they were required to submit a "deep dive".

Results: A 10.6% reduction of broad spectrum antibiotic usage was seen over the 2019-20 financial year.

Conclusion: Over time the number of practices submitting a deep dive reduced and clinicians saw the deep dive as method to peer review their prescribing. Putting the practice staff in control of their own prescribing, allowed for a better method to sustain the improvement.