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Pharmacist interventions on antibiotic use in inpatients with respiratory tract infections in a Chinese hospital

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Abstract

Objective To evaluate the impact of pharmacist interventions on antibiotic use in inpatients with respiratory tract infections in a tertiary hospital in China. Method Two independent respiratory wards were randomized into control and intervention group. Between July 2009 and April 2010, all inpatients diagnosed with respiratory tract infections were enrolled. Pharmacist interventions were performed on the physicians in the intervention group. The total cost of hospitalization, cost of antibiotics, length of hospital stay and the scores of 6 items of inappropriate antibiotic use (including indication, choice, dosage, dosing schedule, duration and conversion) were analyzed. Results The total costs of hospitalization in the intervention group were significant lower compared to the control group ($1442.3 ± 684.9 vs. $1729.6 ± 773.7, P < 0.001), as well as the cost of antibiotics ($832.0 ± 373.0 vs. $943.9 ± 412.0, P = 0.01), and the patients required shorter length of hospital stay (14.2 ± 6.2 vs. 15.8 ± 6.0 days, P = 0.03). The scores with respect to the 6 items of inappropriate antibiotic use were all lower in the intervention group than in the control group. Conclusions Pharmacist interventions, interacted directly with the physicians at ward level, could play an important role in optimizing antibiotic use, thus lead to the reduction in patients’ length of hospital stay and health care cost.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all physicians and nurses who have participated in this study. We thank the pharmacy students for their assistance. Also we would like to thank Dr. Can Luo (Department of Pharmacy, Jiangsu Province Hospital, China) for helpful suggestions and critical reading of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

    Jian Shen & Qingmin Sun

  2. Department of Respiration, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

    Xianmei Zhou, Yu Wei, Yongjian Qi & Jiping Zhu

  3. Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, 15 Mailbox, 138 Xianlin Avenue, University Town of Xianlin, Nanjing, 210046, People’s Republic of China

    Tingting Yan

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  1. Jian Shen
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  2. Qingmin Sun
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  3. Xianmei Zhou
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  4. Yu Wei
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  5. Yongjian Qi
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  6. Jiping Zhu
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  7. Tingting Yan
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Correspondence to Tingting Yan.

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Shen, J., Sun, Q., Zhou, X. et al. Pharmacist interventions on antibiotic use in inpatients with respiratory tract infections in a Chinese hospital. Int J Clin Pharm 33, 929–933 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-011-9577-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-011-9577-z

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