Antibiotic

An outpatient antibiotic stewardship bundle initiative reduced unnecessary antibiotic prescribing for respiratory infections without increasing repeat health care contacts, a recent study showed.

Study findings from hospitals in Copenhagen add to growing data that shorter antibiotic treatment duration is effective for patients with gram-negative bacteremia.

Use of a prepopulated antibiotic order panel resulted in greater adherence to guideline recommendations among physicians who treated outpatients with community-acquired pneumonia, according to a study presented at IDWeek.

Implementing a pharmacist-driven MRSA nasal-swab ordering protocol, followed by a 72-hour approval protocol, led to a significant reduction in antibiotic administration and vancomycin use, researchers found.

An intervention undertaken by dozens of health centers reduced antibiotic use for pediatric conjunctivitis by up to 19% without increasing treatment failure, according to study findings.

Researchers observed an increase in antibiotic prescribing for respiratory tract infections in winter vs. summer months — likely driven in part by inappropriate prescribing.

A pediatric health care system totaled more than $250,000 in antibiotic waste over the course of 2 years — most of it on discarded antibiotics, according to a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

A drug that treats nontuberculous mycobacterial lung infections caused by Mycobacterium avium complex performed well among newly diagnosed patients who had not started antibiotics, its manufacturer said.

Within days of the California Tough Mudder race on Aug. 19 and 20, the Sonoma County Health Department issued a health advisory, stating some participants had contracted Aeromonas bacterial infections.

More than 211 million outpatient oral antibiotic prescriptions were written in 2021, according to the CDC. Data show that around 30% of outpatient prescriptions are inappropriate.