title: Optimizing fluoroquinolone utilization in a public hospital: a prospective study of educational intervention.
abstract: Fluoroquinolone (FQ) utilization should be optimized, with the aim of controlling both multidrug-resistant bacteria and costs. In the present study, the appropriateness of FQ prescriptions for urinary tract infections (UTIs) before and after an educational intervention was examined prospectively. FQ-prescribing physicians received oral and written guidelines between the two phases of the study. All patients admitted to Saint-Antoine University Hospital (Paris) and treated with FQs for UTIs during the study period were included. The main outcome measures of the appropriateness of FQ prescriptions were based on the principles of Antibiotic Utilization Review. The study involved 127 patients. The main prescribing errors before the intervention were wrong routes of administration and failure to take into account antibiotic susceptibility results. The rate of erroneous prescriptions fell by 74.4% after intervention. About 71% of the improvement can be attributed to the intervention (71.4%; 95% confidence interval, 39.3-86.8). The intervention had an overall positive impact on FQ prescription quality. The decrease in inappropriate prescriptions was due mainly to the use of antibiotic susceptibility results (23% vs. 11.5%, P<0.05) and better consideration of indications (18.9% vs. 3.8%; P<0.05). Future educational interventions will cover other indications and will take into account costs and local antimicrobial susceptibility patterns.
authors.affiliation: Infectious and Tropical Diseases Department, Saint-Antoine Hospital AP-HP, 184 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75012 Paris, France.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lacombe
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cariou
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tilleul
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Offenstadt
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Meynard
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004363:Drug Utilization; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011336:Probability; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D024841:Fluoroquinolones