Reducing Ophthalmic Antibiotic Use for Non-severe Conjunctivitis in Children.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antibiotics are often overprescribed for pediatric conjunctivitis. We implemented a system-level quality improvement (QI) intervention to reduce unnecessary ophthalmic antibiotic use.

Methods

The multi-faceted intervention in Denver, CO comprised a clinical care pathway, nurse protocol modifications, electronic health record (EHR) changes, parent education materials, and clinician education. We evaluated children aged 6 months-17 years with conjunctivitis seen between November 2018 and December 2022. A multi-interrupted time series model evaluated the effectiveness of the intervention over three time periods: Pre-COVID, Pre-Intervention (November 2018-February 2020), COVID, Pre-Intervention (March 2020-March 2021), and Post-Intervention (April 2021-December 2022).

SUBMITTER: Sebastian T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10533209 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature