173 - Identification of Inappropriate Antibiotic Orders During a Pharmacy-Supported Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in the Primary Care Setting: A Retrospective Analysis.

Background: In Florida, the number of antibiotic prescriptions has increased from 710-779 prescription/1000 population in 2012 to 748-839 prescription/1000 population in 2017. Antimicrobial stewardship in the outpatient setting is a suggested solution to combat antibiotics misuse in ambulatory practices.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of oral antimicrobial orders generated by primary care providers. The research protocol received approval from Memorial Healthcare System’s Institutional Review Board prior to any research related analysis being conducted. Orders from January 1-December 31, 2018 were reviewed for appropriateness by pharmacy based on IDSA guidelines. Appropriateness was assessed based on the need to prescribe the antibiotic for indication, selection, dose and duration of therapy. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data.

Results: Of 2995 orders, 50.2% were inappropriate. The most common infections associated with inappropriate antibiotic use were upper/lower respiratory tract infections (URTIs (65%) and LRTIs (61%)), oral cavity infections (61%), and skin/soft tissue infections (SSTI (54%)). Inappropriately-prescribed antibiotics were penicillin (62%), cephalosporins (56%), quinolones (50%), macrolides (49%), and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (46%). Penicillin use for URTIs were inappropriate (406 orders) for the following reasons: duration of therapy only 116/137 (85%); dose and duration 36/58 (62%), drug and dose 12/58 (21%) and all three (drug, dose, duration 85/93 (91%)).

Conclusion:  
Implementation of a pharmacist-driven antibiotic stewardship program in the primary care setting identified a significant proportion of orders that were inappropriate for type of antibiotic, dose, and duration of therapy in the management of patients with URTIs. These results serve as an avenue to implement the audit feedback process to promote appropriate use of antibiotics. A process improvement plan will include sharing of the findings, educating primary care physicians per IDSA guidelines and continuous review of prescribing trends. A programmatic evaluation will continue on an on-going basis to decrease the number of inappropriately prescribed antibiotics.