Individualized antibiotic plans as a quality improvement initiative to reduce carbapenem use for hematopoietic cell transplant patients at a freestanding pediatric hospital.

BACKGROUND: Providers must balance effective empiric therapy against toxicity risks and collateral damage when selecting antibiotic therapy for patients receiving hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions during HCT are often challenging due to concern for undertreating potential infections.

METHODS: In an effort to decrease unnecessary carbapenem exposure for patients undergoing HCT at our pediatric center, we implemented individualized antibiotic plans (IAPs) to provide recommendations for pre-engraftment neutropenia prophylaxis, empiric treatment of febrile neutropenia, and empiric treatment for hemodynamic instability. We compared monthly antibiotic days of therapy adjusted per 1000 patient days (DOT/1000 pt-days) for carbapenems, anti-pseudomonal cephalosporins, and all antibiotics during two 3-year periods immediately before and after the implementation of IAPs to measure the impact of IAP on prescribing behavior. Bloodstream infections (BSI) and Clostridioides difficile (CD) positive test rates were also compared between cohorts. Lastly, providers were surveyed to assess their experience of using IAPs in antibiotic decision-making.

RESULTS: Overall antibiotic use decreased after the implementation of IAP (monthly reduction of 19.6 DOT/1000 pt-days, p=0.004) with carbapenems showing a continuing decline after IAP implementation. BSI and CD positivity rates were unchanged. Over 90% of providers found IAPs to be either extremely or very valuable for their practice.

CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of IAPs in this high-risk HCT population led to reduction in overall antibiotic use without increase in rate of BSI or CD test positivity. The program was well-received by providers.