Objectives: The main objective was to assess the relevance of antibiotic prescriptions in the pediatric wards of a regional university hospital in France. Secondary objectives were to assess adequacy of the dose, administration frequency, administration route, treatment duration, adaptation to bacteriological results, and treatment reevaluation.
Patients and methods: We assessed antibiotic prescriptions in pediatric settings. We included all patients under 18 years of age hospitalized in a pediatric ward who received a computerized prescription for antibiotic treatment between June 1st and June 30th, 2018; 163 clinical cases for 157 patients were analyzed. Patients hospitalized in neonatology, pediatric intensive care unit, and onco-hematology wards were excluded.
Results: The rate of relevance was 71%. The rates of adequacy for the other criteria were 60% for the dose, 99% for the administration frequency, 98% for the administration route, 72% for treatment duration, 98% for treatment adaptation to microbiological results, and 100% for treatment revaluation. All criteria combined, the overall rate of adequacy was 28%.
Conclusions: Effort should be made regarding doses and treatment durations. Areas for improvement have been suggested to the wards: standardized prescription protocols, pediatric prescription guide, training of residents, setting up of the operational team in pediatric wards and a second clinical evaluation.
Keywords: Antibiotic stewardship; Assessment of professional practices; Pediatrics.
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