As part of the Antibiotic Stewardship Program at Salem Hospital, an Antibiotic De-escalation and Duration Reminder will appear on patients receiving one of the six broad-spectrum antibiotics (meropenem, ertapenem, piperacillin/ tazobactam, levofloxacin, ceftriaxone and cefepime) for more than 72 hours.
This begins on Feb. 12. The reminder will provide the antibiotic name, indication, and culture and susceptibility results from the last 72 hours. The goal is to encourage a switch to narrower-spectrum or oral antibiotic, add an expected duration of treatment (or stop date) or discontinue antibiotics when appropriate. There will be three responses to this reminder:
YES – Will de-escalate (narrow antibiotic therapy, add duration, change to an oral agent or discontinue antibiotics)
NO – Will not de-escalate. Current antibiotic regimen is appropriate, no change at this time.
DEFER – Additional data is needed for de-escalation or I am not responsible for anti-infective prescribing.
Choosing YES or NO will cause the reminder to expire for all providers. Choosing DEFER will result in the reminder re-appearing in 24-hours.