Safety of Stopping Antibiotics Prescribed “Just in Case”: Comparison of Mortality, Readmissions and Clostridium difficile in Patients with Accepted Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions versus Declined

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

10-2017

Abstract

Antibiotics are often prescribed “just in case” when clinical conditions mimic an infection, such as the shortness of breath in heart failure, the erythema of venous stasis or when bacterial culture results are misleading such as asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) and C difficile colonization. Through prospective audit and feedback (PAF), antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) may guide providers toward appropriate antibiotic use. However, the safety of stopping antibiotics needs to be assessed. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical outcomes of patients with accepted ASP recommendations and compared these to patients in whom the primary team declined ASP recommendations.

Comments

Presented at ID Week in San Diego, California, October 4-8, 2017.

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