Gina Maki

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs can decrease non-optimal use of antibiotics in hospital settings. There are limited data on AMS programs in burn and chronic wound centers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). A post-prescription review and feedback (PPRF) program was implemented in three hospitals in Nepal with a focus on wound and burn care. A total of 241 baseline and 236 post-intervention patient chart data were collected from three hospitals. There was a significant decrease in utilizing days of therapy per 1000 patient days (DOT/1000 PD) of penicillin (p = 0.02), aminoglycoside (p < 0.001), and cephalosporin (p = 0.04). Increases in DOT/1000 PD at post-intervention were significant for metronidazole (p < 0.001), quinolone (p = 0.01), and other antibiotics (p < 0.001). Changes in use of antibiotics varied across hospitals, e.g., cephalosporin use decreased significantly at Kirtipur Hospital (p < 0.001) and Pokhara Academy of Health Sciences (p = 0.02), but not at Kathmandu Model Hospital (p = 0.59). An independent review conducted by infectious disease specialists at the Henry Ford Health System revealed significant changes in antibiotic prescribing practices both overall and by hospital. There was a decrease in mean number of intravenous antibiotic days between baseline (10.1 (SD 8.8)) and post-intervention (8.8 (SD 6.5)) (t = 3.56; p < 0.001), but no difference for oral antibiotics. Compared to baseline, over the 6-month post-intervention period, we found an increase in justified use of antibiotics (p < 0.001), de-escalation (p < 0.001), accurate documentation (p < 0.001), and adherence to the study antibiotic prescribing guidelines at 72 h (p < 0.001) and after diagnoses (p < 0.001). The evaluation data presented provide evidence that PPRF training and program implementation can contribute to hospital-based antibiotic stewardship for wound and burn care in Nepal.

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) has emerged as a systematic approach to optimize antimicrobial use and reduce antimicrobial resistance. To support the implementation of AMS programs, the World Health Organization developed a draft toolkit for health care facility AMS programs in low- and middle-income countries. A feasibility study was conducted in Bhutan, the Federated States of Micronesia, Malawi, and Nepal to obtain local input on toolkit content and implementation of AMS programs. This descriptive qualitative study included semi-structured interviews with national- and facility-level stakeholders. Respondents identified AMS as a priority and perceived the draft toolkit as a much-needed document to further AMS program implementation. Facilitators for implementing AMS included strong national and facility leadership and clinical staff engagement. Barriers included lack of human and financial resources, inadequate regulations for prescription antibiotic sales, and insufficient AMS training. Action items for AMS implementation included improved laboratory surveillance, establishment of a stepwise approach for implementation, and mechanisms for reporting and feedback. Recommendations to improve the AMS toolkit’s content included additional guidance on defining the responsibilities of the committees and how to prioritize AMS programming based on local context. The AMS toolkit was perceived to be an important asset as countries and health care facilities move forward to implement AMS programs.

Data surrounding antibiotic stewardship (AMS) in burn and chronic wound centers in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) are limited. Given the long-term nature of the wounds, increased risk of infection and the potential for further infections being treated with antibiotics, burn and chronic wound centers represent a unique opportunity for antimicrobial stewardship. Three hospitals that maintain long-term burn or chronic wound wards were selected in two regions in Nepal. A post-prescription review and feedback program (PPRF) was instituted in these departments, and locally salient antibiotic practice guidelines were developed based on international and local standards by the research team and local experts. Chosen physicians at each facility were trained as master physician champions. Champions subsequently trained physicians in their wards and ensured that guidelines were followed by prescribing physicians. Baseline and post-intervention phases covered 5 months each during 2018–2019. During the post-intervention phase, physician champions reviewed antimicrobial use at 72 hours and made one of the three recommendations if the antibiotic course was deemed unjustified: changing the antibiotic, stopping the antibiotic course, or de-escalation of the antibiotic. 482 patients were enrolled throughout the duration of the study, with 241 patients in each of the baseline and post-intervention periods. The average length of stay was 8.0 days in baseline (range 3–48 days) vs. 6.4 days (range 3–70 days) during post-intervention. Between baseline and post-intervention, IV antibiotics decreased from 1,161 antibiotic-days per 1,000 patient-days (PD/1,000) to 1,137 PD/1,000. Oral antibiotics decreased from 101 PD/1,000 to 77 PD/1,000. In addition, cephalosporins decreased from 526 PD/1,000 to 474 PD/1,000, and aminoglycosides decreased from 264 PD/1,000 to 117 PD/1,000. Appropriate antimicrobial use is vital in patients with a long length of stays in the hospital to reduce the development of multi-drug-resistant organisms. This intervention showed that a post-prescription review and feedback model can have impact in chronic wound and burn centers in Nepal and be further adapted for use in other LMIC. All authors: No reported disclosures.

Non-prescription use of antibiotics in low- and middle-income countries has contributed to significant antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Henry Ford Health System has partnered with multinational organizations in Nepal to address the need for increasing awareness of AMR and implementation of effective antimicrobial stewardship. This partnership confirmed the importance of increasing knowledge and awareness regarding AMR and antibiotic use to community pharmacists. The present pilot study assessed if outpatient antibiotic dispensing guidelines given to community pharmacists could result in a reduction of unneeded antibiotic use. Nine community pharmacies from Kathmandu were selected of which two were used as controls. Seven pharmacists were educated on the appropriate use of antibiotics, and outpatient dispensing before and after guidelines at all pharmacies were evaluated. The pharmacists were given guidelines on antibiotic use and duration needed for common bacterial infections encountered. Controls were not given guidelines. At baseline and post-intervention (1 week), pill counts were performed of the top six antibiotics that were dispensed by the pharmacist. Pharmacists were requested to keep a log of how many antibiotics were dispensed for one week. The pharmacists also were requested to fill out a post-intervention educational assessment to evaluate retention. Pill count pre-intervention was 15,856 and 1512 and post-intervention was 11,168 and 1,440 in the intervention and control groups respectively (Table 1). A post-intervention educational assessment revealed that both the intervention and control groups believed antibiotics can treat viruses (57% vs. 50%) and that antibiotics do not kill good bacteria that protect the body from infection (57% vs. 50%) (Table 2). There was no difference in the dispensing of antibiotics between pre- and post-intervention. The findings of this study show significant room for improvement in continuing education about antibiotic use in outpatient pharmacies. Further studies are needed to target outpatient antibiotic dispensing with education and identifying economic or other incentives in hopes of reducing the burden of AMR in low- and middle-income countries. All authors: No reported disclosures.

Background: The overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics drives antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the prevalence of highly-resistant Gram-negative infections is increasing across the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Carbapenem resistance is of particular concern since these are often the last line agents. Antimicrobial restriction is an antimicrobial stewardship intervention (AMS) that aims to reduce the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics to preserve antimicrobial susceptibility. Methods: This is retrospective, observational study of antibiotic consumption and prevalence of antibiotic resistance of bacterial isolates from inpatients at Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital, a 350-bed multi-specialty hospital in Thimphu, Bhutan. Antibiotic consumption and antimicrobial susceptibility were monitored from January 2015 to December 2017 by the pharmacy department and the microbiology lab, respectively. Antibiotic consumption was measured using defined daily doses (DDD) and expressed as DDDs per 1,000 persons per day. The antibiotic susceptibility was determined using the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guideline. A hospital AMS program with multidisciplinary team and good hospital managerial/ leadership support were initiated in 2016 and interventions included antimicrobial restrictions, educations, guidelines for use, post prescription review, de-escalation, audit and feedback. Results: From 2015 to 2016, the DDDs of carbapenems and piperacillin–tazobactam (PTZ) increased while ceftriaxone decreased (Figure 1). After the AMS program was implemented in 2016, the annual DDDs of carbapenems decreased while PTZ and ceftriaxone increased. Antimicrobial susceptibility of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escheriachia coli blood isolates to carbapenems and ceftriaxone increased from 2016 to 2017: 50/61 (82%) vs. 45/49 (92%) and 24/91 (26%) vs. 31/92 (34%), respectively. Conclusion: Implementing an AMS program that restricted the use of carbapenems resulted in a decrease in carbapenem use and increased antimicrobial susceptibility for carbapenems and ceftriaxone. AMS interventions can be successful to decrease carbapenem-resistance in LMIC.

Capacity building is needed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Stewardship programs such as post-prescription review and feedback (PPRF) are important components in addressing AMR. Little data are available regarding effectiveness of PPRF programs in LMIC settings. An adapted PPRF program was implemented in the medicine, surgery, and obstetrics/gynecology wards in a 125-bed hospital in Kathmandu. Seven “physician champions” were trained. Baseline and post-intervention patient chart data were analyzed for changes in days of therapy (DOT) and mean number of course days for intravenous and oral antibiotics, and for specific study antibiotics. Charts were independently reviewed to determine justification for prescribed antibiotics. Physician champions documented recommendations. Days of therapy per 1,000 patient-days for courses of aminoglycoside (P < 0.001) and cephalosporin (P < 0.001) decreased. In the medicine ward, data indicate increased justified use of antibiotics (P = 0.02), de-escalation (P < 0.001), rational use of antibiotics (P < 0.01), and conforming to guidelines in the first 72 hours (P = 0.02), and for definitive therapy (P < 0.001). Physician champions documented 437 patient chart reviews and made 138 recommendations; 78.3% of recommendations were followed by the attending physician. Post-prescription review and feedback can be successfully implemented in LMIC hospitals, which often lack infectious disease specialists. Future program adaptation and training will focus on identifying additional stewardship programming and support mechanisms to optimize antibiotic use in LMICs.

Genitourinary Tuberculosis (GUTB) is a common manifestation of tuberculosis and usually results from the reactivation of old, dormant tuberculous diseases by pathogens of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Most often, GUTB has a varied presentation ranging from irritative voiding symptoms to renal failure. Due to this varied presentation, diagnosis of GUTB is often very difficult. We present a case of a reproductive-age female with asymptomatic infertility. Many diagnostic measures failed to identify the root cause of her infertility, however the positive PPD test was the first indicator of a possible reactivation of tuberculosis and histopathological examination of the tissue confirmed the diagnosis. We describe the definitive measure used to diagnose GUTB and the improvement of her infertility after anti-tubercular medications.