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Background: Exposure to discarded needles or other objects put children at risk for infection with blood-borne pathogens (BBP), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C. Objective: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyze the epidemiology, management and outcome of children following such exposures in the greater Toronto community setting. Methods: A retrospective study of children <19 years of age who had community-based exposure to objects that could contain BBP between January 2001 and December 2014. Sexual and hospital inpatient exposures were excluded. Patients were identified by medical record review of all children who had HIV testing performed. Results: Sixty-six community-based exposures to objects potentially contaminated with BBP were identified (71.2% needlesticks). The median age was 6.3 years (interquartile range 3.8, 7.8). Exposures occurred outdoors in the community (45.5%), in schools (30.3%), homes (15.2%) and community/outpatient clinics (9.0%). Of 11 (16.7%) identified source subjects, 7 were known to be HIV infected. HIV post-exposure prophylaxis was prescribed to 22 (33.3%) children; 15 (71.4%) completed the course. Only 41.2% of previously unvaccinated children were documented to have completed a full HBV vaccine series post-exposure. No blood-borne infections were documented, but only 60.6% had documentation of adequate follow-up testing. Conclusions: Enhanced public health interventions in schools and other community settings are needed to reduce childhood risk of exposure to needlesticks or other objects potentially contaminated with BBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are targeted to optimize antimicrobial use. However, pediatric metrics used to measure outcomes of ASPs are not well established. Our aim for this project was to identify, refine, and develop consensus on standard metrics for pediatric ASPs. METHODS: By using a modified Delphi process, 2 surveys were sent to experts and stakeholders to establish consensus on the utility of metrics. These were subdivided into 4 ASP domains: (1) antimicrobial consumption, (2) microbiologic outcomes, (3) clinical outcomes, and (4) process measures. Respondents were asked to rank the scientific merit, impact, feasibility, and accountability of each metric. Metrics with ≥75% agreement for scientific merit were included and metrics with ≤25% agreement were discarded. Consensus was finalized with a face-to-face meeting and final survey. RESULTS: Thirty-eight participants from 15 pediatric hospitals across Canada completed all 3 rounds of the Delphi survey. In the domain of antimicrobial consumption, the 2 selected metrics were (1) days of therapy per 1000 patient-days and (2) total antimicrobial days. The clinical and process outcomes chosen were (1) 30-day readmission rate and (2) adherence to ASP recommendations, respectively. A microbiologic outcome was felt to be important and feasible, but consensus could not be obtained on a measure. Several barriers to implementation of the metrics were identified, including information technology limitations at various centers. CONCLUSIONS: We obtained consensus on 4 metrics to evaluate pediatric antimicrobial stewardship activities in Canada. Adoption of these metrics by pediatric ASPs will facilitate measurement of outcomes nationally and internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]