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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2009, p. 1983-1986, Vol. 53, No. 5
0066-4804/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01535-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Relationship of Carbapenem Restriction in 22 University Teaching Hospitals to Carbapenem Use and Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa{triangledown}

Amy L. Pakyz,1 Michael Oinonen,2 and Ronald E. Polk1*

Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, Richmond, Virginia,1 University HealthSystem Consortium, Oak Brook, Illinois2

Received 18 November 2008/ Returned for modification 11 December 2008/ Accepted 21 February 2009

Many hospital antimicrobial stewardship programs restrict the availability of selected drugs by requiring prior approval. Carbapenems may be among the restricted drugs, but it is unclear if hospitals that restrict availability actually use fewer carbapenems than hospitals that do not restrict use. Nor is it clear if restriction is related to resistance. We evaluated the relationship between carbapenem restriction and the volume of carbapenem use and both the incidence rate and proportion of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from 2002 through 2006 in a retrospective, longitudinal, multicenter analysis among a consortium of academic health centers. Carbapenem use was measured from billing records as days of therapy per 1,000 patient days. Hospital antibiograms were used to determine both the incidence rate and proportion of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates. A survey inquired about restriction policies for antibiotics, including carbapenems. General linear mixed models were used to examine study outcomes. Among 22 hospitals with sufficient data for analysis, overall carbapenem use increased significantly over the 5 years of study (P < 0.0001), although overall carbapenem resistance in P. aeruginosa did not change. Hospitals that restricted carbapenems (n = 8; 36%) used significantly fewer carbapenems (P = 0.04) and reported lower incidence rates of carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (P = 0.01) for all study years. Fluoroquinolone use was a potential confounder of these relationships, but hospitals that restricted carbapenems actually used fewer fluoroquinolones than those that did not. Restriction of carbapenems is associated with both lower use and lower incidence rates of carbapenem resistance in P. aeruginosa.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: VCU School of Pharmacy, MCV Campus, 410 North 12th Street, P.O. Box 980533, Richmond, VA 23298-0533. Phone: (804) 828-8317. Fax: (804) 828-8359. E-mail: rpolk{at}vcu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 9 March 2009.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, May 2009, p. 1983-1986, Vol. 53, No. 5
0066-4804/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AAC.01535-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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