Postprescription Review With Threat of Infectious Disease Consultation and Sustained Reduction in Meropenem Use Over Four Years

Background: Following a meropenem shortage, we implemented a postprescription review with feedback (PPRF) in November 2015 with mandatory infectious disease (ID) consultation for all meropenem and imipenem courses > 72 hours. Providers were made aware of the policy via an electronic alert at the time of ordering.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) and Harborview Medical Center (HMC) to evaluate the impact of the policy on antimicrobial consumption and clinical outcomes pre- and postintervention during a 6-year period. Antimicrobial use was tracked using days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient-days, and data were analyzed by an interrupted time series.

Results: There were 4066 and 2552 patients in the pre- and postintervention periods, respectively. Meropenem and imipenem use remained steady until the intervention, when a marked reduction in DOT/1000 patient-days occurred at both hospitals (UWMC: percentage change -72.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] -76.6, -66.9), P < .001; HMC: percentage change -43.6% (95% CI -59.9, -20.7), P = .001). Notably, although the intervention did not address antibiotic use until 72 hours after initiation, there was a significant decline in meropenem and imipenem initiation ("first starts") in the postintervention period, with a 64.9% reduction (95% CI 58.7, 70.2; P < .001) at UWMC and 44.7% reduction (95% CI 28.1, 57.4; P < .001) at HMC.

Conclusions: PPRF and mandatory ID consultation for meropenem and imipenem use beyond 72 hours resulted in a significant and sustained reduction in the use of these antibiotics and notably impacted their up-front usage.