LAUSR

Abstract Background Inappropriate antimicrobial use (AMU) is strongly associated with antimicrobial resistance. The Global Point Prevalence Survey (Global-PPS) is a standardized tool that is used worldwide to characterize inpatient AMU. We report pediatric results from 26 Canadian hospitals that participated in the Global-PPS in 2018. Methods The survey was completed by each site on the Global-PPS website for all patients aged 0–17 years hospitalized in a neonatal or pediatric ward on a chosen day between January and December 2018. Data collected included ward type, demographics, antimicrobials prescribed, diagnosis, type of indication (community-acquired [CA] vs. healthcare-associated [HA]) and type of therapy (empiric vs. targeted). Quality indicators included guideline compliance, medical record documentation of diagnosis, antimicrobial stop/review date, and surgical prophylaxis (SP) duration. Results Of the 26 sites, 23 were mixed and 3 were pediatric hospitals, with data on 767 inpatients. Overall, 25.8% (n = 198) of patients received at least one antimicrobial, and 21.9% (n = 168) were on at least one antibiotic. The highest AMU was found in Hematology-Oncology (84%), Pediatric Intensive Care (55.3%) and surgical (42.1%) units. Of the 330 antimicrobial prescriptions, 40.9% were for CA infections, 23% for medical prophylaxis, 20% for HA infections and 2.7% for SP. The most commonly treated infections were sepsis (16%) and lower respiratory tract infection (12.1%). The top five prescribed antibiotics were aminopenicillins (20.4%), aminoglycosides (16.1%), third-generation cephalosporins (15.4%), piperacillin–tazobactam (7.5%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (7.5%). Diagnosis and stop/review date were documented for 88.1% and 65.1% of prescriptions, respectively. Compliance to local guidelines was found in 91.5% of therapies. SP exceeded 24 hours in 88.9% of courses. Conclusion The Global-PPS generated Canada-wide data on inpatient pediatric AMU, which will allow hospitals to benchmark and develop local quality improvement interventions to enhance appropriate AMU. Targets for improvement include suboptimal antimicrobial stop/review date documentation and prolonged SP. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.