AUTHOR=Morales-Betancourt Catalina , De la Cruz-Bértolo Javier , Muñoz-Amat Bárbara , Bergón-Sendín Elena , Pallás-Alonso Carmen TITLE=Reducing Early Antibiotic Use: A Quality Improvement Initiative in a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2022.913175 DOI=10.3389/fped.2022.913175 ISSN=2296-2360 ABSTRACT=
Antibiotic burden is a critical issue in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and antibiotic use is considered a quality indicator of neonatal care. Our aim was to optimize antibiotic use through a quality improvement (QI) initiative that included revision of departmental protocols and implementation of a surveillance system based on process indicators.
This is descriptive study of a cohort of all very low birth weight (VLBW) infants admitted to the NICU from 2014 to 2019. A series of QI interventions were made during the study period and included departmental protocols and the implementation of a surveillance system based on process indicators. The primary outcome was the percentage of VLBW infants who had received
During the study period, a significant relative reduction was seen in the proportion of VLBW infants administered early antibiotics (46%;
In our NICU, the implementation of a QI initiative that is based on affordable methods to track process indicators and evaluate the results led into a significant reduction in antibiotic exposure in VLBW infants. This approach is easy to implement in other NICUs as well.