Stewardship in US nursing homes tied to less antibiotic use

A new study of more than 400 US nursing homes found that participating in a quality improvement program that frames antibiotic use as a patient safety issue was associated with a reduction in antibiotic use and urine culture collection, researchers reported yesterday in JAMA Network Open.

The study, which assessed the impact of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use in long-term care (LTC) facilities across the United States, also found that nursing homes that had greater engagement in the program saw more pronounced reductions in antibiotic use.