Trial reportBMJ open quality2023
Quality improvement initiative improves the empiric antibiotic prescribing practices in a tertiary care children's hospital in India.
Trial report in BMJ open quality, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis to identify behavioural content and active ingredients of antimicrobial stewardship education and training interventions in hospital-based care settings.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Pooled it
- Antibiotic stewardship and point-of-care testing for children in 25 low-income and lower-middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Labelling of Fluids in the Sterile Field During Orthopaedic Surgery: A Quality Improvement Initiative.Cureus · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionInfections are a common cause of paediatric morbidity. Antibiotics are vital in treating them. Erratic prescribing practices are an important cause for the development of antibiotic resistance. Our objective was to estimate the effectiveness of educational interventions to improve empirical antibiotic prescribing practices among paediatric trainees. We aimed to improve the compliance to antibiotic protocols and to sustain it over 6 months.
methodsIt is a time interrupted non-randomised trial conducted in a tertiary hospital in India. Initially, 200 admitted children were selected randomly. Their antibiotic prescriptions, adherence of prescriptions to the then existing antibiotics guidelines, course during hospital stay and the final outcome were noted. The existing antibiotic policy and its use were reviewed. It was then considered essential to prepare a fresh antibiotic policy based on national guidelines, local sensitivity patterns and with inputs from microbiologists. This was distributed to the residents through seminars, posters and cellphone friendly documents. Compliance to the policy was also tracked twice a week. The adherence to guideline was recorded in the subsequent 6 months.
resultsThe adherence of empirical antibiotic prescriptions was 59% before intervention which improved to 72% in the first month, 90% in the second month, 86% and 78% in the third and sixth months, respectively. There was no significant difference in duration of stay and the outcome at discharge in the patients in adherent and non-adherent groups.
conclusionEducational interventions and frequent monitoring improved antibiotic prescribing practices among residents with no negative impact on patient outcomes. Quality improvements need persistent reinforcement and frequent monitoring to be sustainable.
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