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Antimicrobial use in UK long-term care facilities: Results of a point prevalence survey

Thornley, Tracey; Ashiru-Oredope, Diane; Beech, Elizabeth; Howard, Philip; Kirkdale, Charlotte L.; Elliott, Heather; Harris, Claire; Roberts, Alex

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Authors

Diane Ashiru-Oredope

Elizabeth Beech

Philip Howard

Charlotte L. Kirkdale

Heather Elliott

Claire Harris

Alex Roberts



Abstract

Background: The majority of people in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are aged 65 years and older, and most of their care needs are provided by the LTCF staff. Provision of healthcare services for residents in LTCFs is variable and can result in disjointed care between carers and NHS healthcare professionals. Objectives: Our aim was to understand the use of antibiotics in LTCFs across the UK and to identify potential gaps in knowledge and support for carers and residents when using antibiotics, in order to determine how community pharmacy teams can provide additional support. Methods: A point prevalence survey (PPS) was conducted by community pharmacists (n"57) when they carried out visits to LTCFs across the UK between 13 November and 12 December 2017. Anonymized data were recorded electronically by the individual pharmacists. Results: Data were analysed for 17909 residents in 644 LTCFs across the UK. The mean proportion of residents on antibiotics on the day of the visit was as follows: 6.3% England (536 LTCFs), 7.6% Northern Ireland (35 LTCFs), 8.6% Wales (10 LTCFs) and 9.6% Scotland (63 LTCFs). The percentage of antibiotics prescribed for prophylactic use was 25.3%. Antibiotic-related training was reported as being available for staff in 6.8% of LTCFs and 7.1% of LTCFs reported use of a catheter passport scheme. Pharmacists conducting the PPS intervened during the survey for 9.5% of antibiotic prescription events; 53.4%of interventions were for clinical reasons and 32.2%were for administration reasons. Conclusions: This survey identified high prophylactic use of antibiotics. There are opportunities for community pharmacy teams to improve antimicrobial stewardship in LTCF settings, including workforce education.

Citation

Thornley, T., Ashiru-Oredope, D., Beech, E., Howard, P., Kirkdale, C. L., Elliott, H., …Roberts, A. (2019). Antimicrobial use in UK long-term care facilities: Results of a point prevalence survey. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 74(7), 2083-2090. https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkz135

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 6, 2019
Online Publication Date Apr 16, 2019
Publication Date Jul 1, 2019
Deposit Date Jan 14, 2023
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Print ISSN 0305-7453
Electronic ISSN 1460-2091
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 74
Issue 7
Pages 2083-2090
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/jac/dkz135
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/15939794
Publisher URL https://academic.oup.com/jac/article/74/7/2083/5472244

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