title: Measuring the impact of antimicrobial stewardship programs.
abstract: Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) are being implemented worldwide to optimize antimicrobial therapy, and thereby improve patient safety and quality of care. Additionally, this should counteract resistance development. It is, however, vital that correct and timely diagnostics are performed in parallel, and that an institution runs a well-organized infection prevention program. Currently, there is no clear consensus on which interventions an ASP should comprise. Indeed this depends on the institution, the region, and the patient population that is served. Different interventions will lead to different effects. Therefore, adequate evaluations, both clinically and financially, are crucial. Here, we provide a general overview of, and perspective on different intervention strategies and methods to evaluate these ASP programs, covering before mentioned topics. This should lead to a more consistent approach in evaluating these programs, making it easier to compare different interventions and studies with each other and ultimately improve infection and patient management.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jan-Willem H
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Dik
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.|b Medical Microbiology , Certe Laboratory for Infectious Diseases , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hendrix
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Poelman
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hubert G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Niesters
authors.affiliation: c Unit of PharmacoEpidemiology & PharmacoEconomics (PE2), Department of Pharmacy , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.|d Institute of Science in Healthy Aging & healthcaRE (SHARE), University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.|e Department of Epidemiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maarten J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Postma
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Bhanu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.affiliation: a Department of Medical Microbiology, University Medical Center Groningen , University of Groningen , Groningen , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Alexander W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Friedrich
mesh_terms: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D017723:Drug Utilization Review / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012107:Research Design; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents
keywords: A-teams; Antimicrobial stewardship; antimicrobial resistance; expert review; one health