Accelerating reductions in antimicrobial resistance : Evaluating the effectiveness of an intervention program implemented by an infectious disease consultant

Objectives: Very few infectious disease physicians exist in Japan. A concerted infection control intervention program involving an antimicrobial stewardship team and multiple components was designed and implemented in multiple hospitals from 2010. Here, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate the intervention program’s effectiveness. Methods: The frequencies of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa were monitored in four acute-care hospitals. The primary goal of the program was to accelerate the speed of decline of such resistance. A quasi-experimental study design was used to detect accelerated rates of increases in drug susceptibility, comparing time before and after the intervention. Results: Both MRSA and drug-resistant P. aeruginosa exhibited decreasing trends (p