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Table 2 Outcomes

From: Improving antibiotic prescribing for adults with community acquired pneumonia: Does a computerised decision support system achieve more than academic detailing alone? – a time series analysis

Outcome

Baseline group

Academic detailing group

Computerised decision support group

P value#

 

N = 392

N = 215

N = 133

 

Patients receiving recommended antibiotic cover for typical and atypical pathogens*

211/341

61.9%

143/208

68.7%

113/126

89.7%

<0.01

Patients requiring ICU who went direct from ED

17/26

65.0%

9/12

75.0%

8/10

80%

0.68

Patients requiring ICU who received appropriate empiric broad spectrum antibiotics#

12/25

48.0%

5/11

45.0%

9/10

90%

<0.01

PSI class V patients who received appropriate empiric broad spectrum antibiotics#

9/70

12.8%

4/43

9.3%

10/38

26.3%

<0.01

PSI class IV&V patients who received appropriate empiric broad spectrum antibiotics #

30/341

8.6%

9/208

4.3%

5/39

12.8%

<0.01

CURB 'severe' patients who received appropriate empiric broad spectrum antibiotics#

14/155

9.0%

7/80

8.7%

20/49

40.8%

<0.01

Patients who received an antibiotic to which they had a known allergy

11/42

26.2%

6/23

26.1%

3/21

14.3%

0.50

Time from ED presentation to administration of antibiotic: median (range)

171 minutes

(15–1969)

158 minutes

(15–1154)

142 minutes

(10–1190)

<0.01

Average cost of antibiotics for pneumonia per patient

$72.07

$94.47

$84.04

NA

  1. * = excluding patients suspected of having aspirated and patients who received no antibiotic treatment at all
  2. # p values calculated using chi squared test for categorical variables and analysis of variance for continuous variables
  3. ED: Emergency department, ICU: Intensive care unit, PSI: Pneumonia Severity Index, CURB: modified British Thoracic Society Severity score