Do antimicrobial stewardship programs improve the quality of care in ICU patients diagnosed with infectious diseases following consultation? Experience in a tertiary care hospital.

BACKGROUND: One of the most important public health concerns is the ever-growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Importantly, the rate of introduction of new molecules into clinical practice has slowed down considerably. Moreover, the rapid emergence of resistance shortens the effective 'lifespan' of these molecules. OBJECTIVE: The quality of care before and after active intervention and feedback was evaluated in patients diagnosed with sepsis/septic shock or ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in the ICUs of Hacettepe University Adult and Oncology Hospitals. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in total scores. Significant improvements were achieved in the management of these patients in terms of requests for necessary diagnostic tests, and the prolonged infusion of beta-lactam agents. CONCLUSION: Implementation of an ASP in centers where antimicrobial management of ICU patients is largely controlled by infectious diseases specialists remains a feasible strategy that leads to better patient care.

Does information by pharmacists convince the public to get vaccinated for pneumococcal disease and herpes zoster?

BACKGROUND: Pneumococcal diseases (PN) and herpes zoster (HZ) are preventable infections in the adult population. AIMS: This study aimed to identify the vaccination rates at 1 year after pharmacist-led provision of information in the community. The objectives were to reveal the reasons for not being vaccinated and to determine opinions and awareness of PN and HZ vaccination among public. METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in five social and solidarity centres in Turkey. Participants were educated by a pharmacist about PN and HZ diseases, vaccinations and reimbursement status, respectively. All participants were followed by telephone 1 year after to determine their vaccination status. RESULTS: A total of 155 participants (72.9% male; mean age was 68.72 ± 9.04 years) were included. With respect to PN and HZ vaccines, it was found that 40% and 12.7% of participants knew about the respective vaccines. Following the pharmacist's educational session, 52.9% and 51.6% were willing to have the respective vaccine, but only 5.7% and 0.8% respectively got vaccinated 1 year after the educational session. Perceived disease severity, provision of information by a pharmacist, and reimbursement status of the vaccines were not associated with the vaccination rates. CONCLUSIONS: The public obtain information on vaccines from friends and family members, which may result in misinformation and inappropriate behaviour in vaccination. Although educational sessions provided by pharmacists did not increase the actual vaccination rates for PN and HZ, public willingness to vaccination has increased.

Pharmacist intervention to improve patients' knowledge and attitude towards hepatitis B infection.

OBJECTIVE: Lack of knowledge/awareness of people living with hepatitis B (PLH) often leads to misinformation and stigmatisation. This study aimed to assess the contribution of the clinical pharmacist (CP)-led education on knowledge of PLH about their disease. METHODS: This prospective, cross-sectional study was carried out between 1 October 2017 and 1 April 2018, at infectious disease and gastroenterology outpatient clinics in a university hospital. All PLH were interviewed face-to-face by a CP and a questionnaire about hepatitis B virus (HBV) knowledge was applied both at the beginning of the study (first interview) and 3 months later (second interview). Correct information was provided verbally to the patients by the CP concerning their incorrect answers during the first interview. A 10% increase in the number of correct answers was targeted for the second interview. RESULTS: A total of 147 PLH with a mean age of 43.05 ± 13.25 years were included in the study (55.8% female). In the first interview, the mean (±standard deviation) number of correct answers was 35.53 ± 9.15 out of 51 questions. In the second interview, correct answers were 48.67 ± 2.74 with an increase of 25.8% (P < .001). In the first interview, the number of correct answers was higher for the following groups: 20-39 age group, people with monthly income of >1081 $ and university graduates. The number of correct answers to all questions but one was elevated (P < .001) in the second interview. Answers to the question "there is a carrier state in chronic hepatitis B (CHB)" did not change (P = .125). CONCLUSION: Significant improvement was observed in the correct answer rate after CP's contribution, therefore as a team member, CP has an important role in improving patients' knowledge and attitude towards HBV infection.