Defining the Metrics of Success for an Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs :

The importance of antimicrobial stewardship in this era of antibiotic resistance cannot be overstated. Once we create an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP), how do we know if it is working? Science et al. (10.1542/peds.2018-2372) brought together 38 experts from 15 pediatric healthcare centers in Canada to participate in 3 rounds of a Delphi process to determine a consensus for defining the quality metrics for ASPs. The participants managed to agree on two metrics regarding antibiotic usage: days of therapy per 1,000 patient-days and total antimicrobial days.  They also identified two clinical and process outcomes: 30-day readmission rate and adherence to the ASP recommendations being put into place.  Are you using these measures in your own hospital? If not, read this article and see if these metrics germinate ideas for using these metrics in your own children’s hospital or health center.  A lot of work went into gaining the consensus needed to establish these metrics.  This could be very useful in comparing stewardship across regions.  Now the quality thing for you to do is link to the article and decide if these metrics are ones you want to implement.