The effect of antimicrobial stewardship interventions upon antimicrobial consumption and appropriateness in Vietnamese district hospitals: a cluster randomised trial.

BACKGROUND

Inappropriate antimicrobial use is a key driver of antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) promotes the judicious use of antimicrobials to address this problem. This study evaluated the effect of an AMS program on antimicrobial prescribing practices in district hospitals in Vietnam.

METHODS

A cluster randomised controlled trial was conducted in 16 district hospitals in northern and southern Vietnam over four months. Hospitals were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. Interventions included establishing AMS committees and teams, distributing antimicrobial guidelines, training healthcare workers, providing patient educational material, and conducting periodic audits with feedback on antimicrobial prescribing. Co-primary outcomes were the "difference in differences" in (i) total antimicrobial consumption and (ii) inappropriate prescribing according to standardised guidelines, before and after the intervention, between intervention and control groups. Secondary outcomes included antimicrobial costs and all-cause mortality. After the intervention period, control sites also received the AMS program. Trial registry: Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) number 12622000715774.

FINDINGS

A total of 877 and 1220 antimicrobial prescriptions were reviewed in intervention hospitals, and 1277 and 1454 prescriptions in control hospitals at baseline and post-intervention. Inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing exceeded 60% in each hospital at baseline. After the intervention, inappropriate prescribing in the intervention group reduced by 6.3% (95% CI -10.9%, -1.7%) relative to the control group. Total antimicrobial consumption did not differ between groups, but antimicrobial costs reduced in the intervention group. No difference in all-cause mortality was observed.

INTERPRETATION

AMS interventions modestly reduced inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in district hospitals in Vietnam, underscoring the importance of AMS in resource-limited settings.

FUNDING

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.