Dataset Information

A Feasible Laboratory-Strengthening Intervention Yielding a Sustainable Clinical Bacteriology Sector to Support Antimicrobial Stewardship in a Large Referral Hospital in Ethiopia.

ABSTRACT: Background: Access to clinical bacteriology in low resource settings (LRS) is a key bottleneck preventing individual patient management of treatable severe infections, detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and implementation of effective stewardship interventions. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility of a practical bundle of interventions aimed at implementing sustainable clinical bacteriology services at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and report on cost and intensity of supervision. Methods: Starting in Dec 2015, an intervention based on the CLSI QMS01-A guideline was established, consisting of (i) an initial needs assessment, (ii) development of key standard operating procedures, (iii) adaptation of processes for LRS, (iv) training and supervision of laboratory staff via consultant visits and existing online resources, and (v) implementation of a practical quality systems approach. A guiding principle of the bundle was sustainability of all interventions post implementation. Outcomes and challenges: An initial investment of ~US$ 26,200 for laboratory reagents, and a total of 50 visit-days per year from three Canadian and Norwegian microbiologists were committed. Twelve SOPs, including antimicrobial susceptibility testing, were adapted, and an automated blood culture platform was donated (bioMerieux). In the first 18 months of implementation of the intervention, the average volume of specimens analyzed in the lab went from 15/day to 75/day. The number of blood cultures tested increased from an average of 2/day to over 45/day. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was introduced and cumulative antibiograms were generated for the institution. Quality control was implemented for all procedures and quality assurance tools implemented included external quality assurance and proficiency testing of six technologists with longitudinal follow-up. The laboratory is on the path toward SLIPTA accreditation by the African Society for Laboratory Medicine. Reagent costs, staff training and retention, and engagement of clinical personnel with the lab proved to be manageable challenges. Key external challenges include in-country supply-chain management issues, lack of competition among distributors, and foreign-currency exchange distortions. Conclusions: Using a relatively low-intensity intervention based on existing training tools and accreditation schemes, we demonstrate that establishment of reasonable-quality clinical bacteriology is not only within reach but also a critical step toward assessing the burden of AMR in settings like this one and implementing effective stewardship strategies.

SUBMITTER: Yansouni CP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7325602 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A Feasible Laboratory-Strengthening Intervention Yielding a Sustainable Clinical Bacteriology Sector to Support Antimicrobial Stewardship in a Large Referral Hospital in Ethiopia.

Yansouni Cedric P CP Seifu Daniel D Libman Michael M Alemayehu Tinsae T Gizaw Solomon S Johansen Øystein Haarklau ØH Abebe Workeabeba W Amogne Wondwossen W Semret Makeda M

Frontiers in public health 20200623

<b>Background:</b> Access to clinical bacteriology in low resource settings (LRS) is a key bottleneck preventing individual patient management of treatable severe infections, detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and implementation of effective stewardship interventions. We sought to demonstrate the feasibility of a practical bundle of interventions aimed at implementing sustainable clinical bacteriology services at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and report o ...[more]

PMID: 32656174

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Project description:Uganda's under-five mortality is high, currently estimated at 66/1000 live births. Poor referral of sick children that seek care from the private sector is one of the contributory factors. The proposed intervention aims to improve referral and uptake of referral advice for children that seek care from private facilities (registered drug shops/private clinics).A cluster randomized design will be applied to test the intervention in Mukono District, central Uganda. A sample of study clusters will implement the intervention. The intervention will consist of three components: i) raising awareness in the community: village health teams will discuss the importance of referral and encourage households to save money, ii) training and supervision of providers in the private sector to diagnose, treat and refer sick children, iii) regular meetings between the public and private providers (convened by the district health team) to discuss the referral system. Twenty clusters will be included in the study, randomized in the ratio of 1:1. A minimum of 319 sick children per cluster and the total number of sick children to be recruited from all clusters will be 8910; adjusting for a 10 % loss to follow up and possible withdrawal of private outlets.The immediate sustainable impact will be appropriate treatment of sick children. The intervention is likely to impact on private sector practices since the scope of the services they provide will have expanded. The proposed study is also likely to have an impact on families as; i) they may appreciate the importance of timely referral on child illness management, ii) the cost savings related to reduced morbidity will be used by household to access other social services. The linkage between the private and public sectors will create a potential avenue for delivery of other public health interventions and improved working relations in the two sectors. Further, improved quality of services in the private sector will improve provider confidence and hopefully more clientelle to the private practices.NCT02450630 Registration date: May/9th/2015.

Project description:Intense antibiotic consumption in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) is fueled by critical gaps in laboratory infrastructure and entrenched syndromic management of infectious syndromes. Few data inform the achievability and impact of antimicrobial stewardship interventions, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our goal was to demonstrate the feasibility of a pharmacist-led laboratory-supported intervention at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and report on antimicrobial use and clinical outcomes associated with the intervention. Methods: This was a single-center prospective quasi-experimental study conducted in two phases: (i) an intervention phase (November 2017 to August 2018), during which we implemented weekly audit and immediate (verbal and written) feedback sessions on antibiotic prescriptions of patients admitted in 2 pediatric and 2 adult medicine wards, and (ii) a post-intervention phase (September 2018 to January 2019) during which we audited antibiotic prescriptions but provided no feedback to the treating teams. The intervention was conducted by an AMS team consisting of 4 clinical pharmacists (one trained in AMS) and one ID specialist. Our primary outcome was antimicrobial utilization (measured as days of therapy (DOT) per 1,000 patient-days and duration of antibiotic treatment courses); secondary outcomes were length of hospital stay and in-hospital all-cause mortality. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to explore factors associated with all-cause in-hospital mortality. Results: We collected data on 1,109 individual patients (707 during the intervention and 402 in the post-intervention periods). Ceftriaxone, vancomycin, cefepime, meropenem, and metronidazole were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics; 96% of the recommendations made by the AMS team were accepted. The AMS team recommended to discontinue antibiotic therapy in 54% of cases during the intervention period. Once the intervention ceased, total antimicrobial use increased by 51.6% and mean duration of treatment by 4.1 days/patient. Mean LOS stay as well as crude mortality also increased significantly in the post-intervention phase (LOS: 24.1 days vs. 19.8 days; in hospital death 14.7 vs. 6.9%). The difference in mortality remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders. Conclusions: A pharmacist-led AMS intervention focused on duration of antibiotic treatment was feasible and had good acceptability in our setting. Cessation of audit-feedback activities was associated with immediate and sustained increases in antibiotic consumption reflecting a rapid return to baseline (pre-intervention) prescribing practices, and worse clinical outcomes (increased length of stay and in-hospital mortality). Pharmacist-led audit-feedback activities can effectively reduce antimicrobial consumption and result in better-quality care, but require organizational leadership's commitment for sustainable benefits.

Project description:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious global public-health threat. Evidence suggests that antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) is a valuable tool to facilitate rational antibiotic use within healthcare facilities. A cross-sectional situational analysis using a questionnaire was conducted to determine the current status of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) activities in all public-sector hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The survey had a 79% (57, N = 72) response rate. A total of 75% of hospitals had an antimicrobial stewardship committee (AMSC), 47% (20, N = 43) had a formal written statement of support from leadership, and 7% (3, N = 43) had budgeted financial support. Only 37% (16, N = 43) had on-site or off-site support from a clinical microbiologist, and 5% (2, N = 43) had an on-site infectious disease (ID) physician. Microbiologist input on pathogen surveillance data (aOR: 5.12; 95% CI: 4.08-22.02; p-value = 0.001) and microbiological investigations prior to the commencement of antibiotics (aOR: 5.12; 95% CI: 1.08-42.01; p-value = 0.041) were significantly associated with having either on- or off-site microbiology support. Respondents that had a representative from microbiology on the AMSC were significantly associated with having and interrogating facility-specific antibiograms (P = 0.051 and P = 0.036, respectively). Those facilities that had access to a microbiologist were significantly associated with producing an antibiogram (aOR: 4.80; 95% CI: 1.25-18.42; p-value = 0.022). Facilities with an ID physician were significantly associated with having a current antibiogram distributed to prescribers within the facility (P = 0.010) and significantly associated with sending prescribers personalized communication regarding improving prescribing (P = 0.044). Common challenges reported by the facilities included suboptimal hospital management support; a lack of clinicians, pharmacists, nurses, microbiologists, and dedicated time; the lack of a multidisciplinary approach; low clinician buy-in; inadequate training; a lack of printed antibiotic guidelines; and financial restrictions for microbiological investigations. The survey identified the need for financial, IT, and management support. Microbiology and infectious disease physicians were recognized as scarce human resources.

Project description:(1) Background: Pharmacists play a pivotal role in tackling Antimicrobial resistance through antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and are well placed to lead behaviour change interventions across the healthcare system; (2) Methods: A cross-sector AMS training initiative for pharmacists was implemented across England, with three cohorts between 2019-2021. Each cohort took part in an introductory workshop, followed- by a workplace-based quality improvement project supported by peer-assisted learning sessions. Completion of training was determined by an end of training assessment after three to four months. Outcome data and learner survey results were collated, anonymised, and analysed by the training provider. (3) Results: In total, 118 pharmacists participated in the introductory workshop, 70% of these subsequently undertook an improvement project, and 48% engaged workplace stakeholders in the process. Interventions were designed by 57% of learners and 18% completed a at least one Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. Approximately a quarter of learners met the requirements for a Certificate of Completion. Knowledge quiz scores were obtained from 115 learners pre-training and 28 learners post-training. Paired t-tests conducted for 28 learners showed a statistically significant improvement in mean score from 67.7% to 81.1% (p < 0.0001). Sixty-two learner survey responses were received during the training and 21 follow-up survey responses 6 to 12 months post training. Of the 21 responses to the follow-up survey, ongoing quality improvement work and improvement outcomes were reported by nine and six learners, respectively. (4) Conclusions: The delivery of workplace-based training at scale can be challenging, however this study demonstrates that coupling learning with workplace implementation and peer support can promote behaviour change in learners. Further study into the impact of providing pharmacists across sectors and geographies with access to this type of training will help inform ongoing workforce development interventions.

Dataset Information

A Feasible Laboratory-Strengthening Intervention Yielding a Sustainable Clinical Bacteriology Sector to Support Antimicrobial Stewardship in a Large Referral Hospital in Ethiopia.

Publications

A Feasible Laboratory-Strengthening Intervention Yielding a Sustainable Clinical Bacteriology Sector to Support Antimicrobial Stewardship in a Large Referral Hospital in Ethiopia.

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