Kaes Anneleen, Buyle Franky, Quintens Charlotte, Van Eijgen Astrid, Zubryckyj Larissa, Boussery Koen, Vanoverschelde Anna
Department of Bioanalysis, Pharmaceutical Care Unit, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Hospital Pharmacy Department, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Acta Clin Belg. 2024 Oct;79(5):341-349. doi: 10.1080/17843286.2024.2448357. Epub 2025 Jan 11.
Implementation of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT), also known as intravenous (IV) antimicrobial treatment at home, has increased in recent years. Ensuring OPAT quality is crucial to achieve positive patient outcomes. However, data on the Belgian quality of OPAT organisation is lacking. We aimed to monitor the organisational quality of OPAT in Belgian hospitals and identify roles of hospital pharmacists involved in OPAT.
A cross-sectional study applying a web-based survey on OPAT quality was conducted from 2 to 29 April 2024. The survey assessed the presence of six core and five non-core structure indicators, and OPAT-related tasks of hospital pharmacists.
Almost two-thirds (64%; 65/101) of Belgian hospitals answered the survey, with 77% of these hospitals providing OPAT, with an increase since 2023. All 11 structure indicators were present in 6% of hospitals, while 18% had all six core structure indicators.Three of the six core structure indicators were formally present in the majority of the hospitals: a policy on patient selection criteria (76%), a structured OPAT programme (70%), and a dedicated team (64%). In contrast, a system for fast communication between the patient and OPAT team members (50%), a mechanism for urgent clinical discussions (42%), and monitoring of quality indicators (28%) were not formally present in the majority of the hospitals. The primary tasks for hospital pharmacists included overseeing OPAT prescriptions and supplying antimicrobials and related materials.
While the adoption of OPAT is increasing among Belgian hospitals, significant opportunities remain for improving the quality of the OPAT organisation and expanding the OPAT-related tasks of Belgian hospital pharmacists.
门诊胃肠外抗菌治疗（OPAT），即在家中进行静脉抗菌治疗，近年来有所增加。确保OPAT质量对于实现良好的患者治疗效果至关重要。然而，缺乏关于比利时OPAT组织质量的数据。我们旨在监测比利时医院OPAT的组织质量，并确定参与OPAT的医院药剂师的作用。
于2024年4月2日至29日进行了一项横断面研究，采用基于网络的OPAT质量调查。该调查评估了六个核心和五个非核心结构指标的存在情况，以及医院药剂师与OPAT相关的任务。
近三分之二（64%；65/101）的比利时医院回复了调查，其中77%的医院提供OPAT，自2023年以来有所增加。6%的医院具备所有11个结构指标，而18%的医院具备所有六个核心结构指标。六个核心结构指标中的三个在大多数医院中正式存在：患者选择标准政策（76%）、结构化OPAT计划（70%）和专门团队（64%）。相比之下，患者与OPAT团队成员之间的快速沟通系统（50%）、紧急临床讨论机制（42%）和质量指标监测（28%）在大多数医院中并未正式存在。医院药剂师的主要任务包括监督OPAT处方以及供应抗菌药物和相关材料。
虽然比利时医院对OPAT的采用率在增加，但在改善OPAT组织质量和扩大比利时医院药剂师与OPAT相关任务方面仍有很大机会。
