Objective: To assess the impact of an antibiotic prescribing programme in a intensive therapy unit.
Type of study: Prospective comparative study.
Methods: We compared antibiotic prescriptions and bacterial susceptibility to antimicrobial agents before and after introduction of a programme focusing on injection control and therapeutic indications.
Results: The introduction of the programme resulted in a major decrease in antibiotic administration. Moreover, the susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to ticarcillin increased from 40 to 68%, and susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus to methicillin increased from 55 to 73%.
Conclusions: Antibiotic control policies must be considered integral to any effort to decrease resistance and cost of therapy with antibiotics.