Welcome
The UC Davis Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) was first established in pediatrics in 2011 and then hospital wide in 2013 in response to the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance. The CDC considers antibiotic resistance to be "one of the biggest public health challenges of our time," annually impacting 2 million plus individuals and contributing to at least 23,000 deaths. UC Davis's ASP is dedicated to assisting and educating providers with antimicrobial decision making so that antimicrobials can be used in a way that maximizes benefit, minimizes risks to individual and public health, and provides the greatest value for our healthcare dollar.
In 2021 UC Davis ASP was awarded Gold status by the California Departhment of Public Health's (CDPH) Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) Program. The goals of CDPH's ASP Honor Roll are to promote optimal use of antimicrobials, prevent emergence of antimicrobial resistance and C. difficile infections, and to showcase California healthcare facility ASPs that not only follow national guidelines, but also demonstrate outcomes and engage their local healthcare community. Additional information can be found here.
In 2019 UC Davis ASP was honored as a "Center of Excellence (CoE)" by the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA), one of just twenty-three institutions to most recently receive the honor. The award is given to institutions that deliver high-quality care consistently and serve as the "gold" standard for executing novel Antimicrobial Stewardship principles. A copy of IDSA's press release can be found here. We are now one of sixty-six hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
What's New?
CLSI Breakpoints Change & New Drug Susceptibility Panels Arrive
The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) released its updated fluoroquinolone breakpoints for commonly encountered gram negative organisms including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Enterobacterales in 2019. The new breakpoints are lower than previously published reflecting a better understanding of fluoroquinolone resistance. Panel results will now reflect these changes.
The Microbiology lab has additionally updated its drug susceptibility panels which will now include routine testing for the latest combination agents for gram negative isolates: ceftazidime-avibactam, ceftolozane-tazobactam, and meropenem-vaborbactam. Results will be reported as indicated by the entirety of the isolate's resistance testing.
Please call, page, or Vocera the Antibiotic Stewardship team with any questions.
Clinician Stewardship Awards
Antimicrobial Stewardship Gold Star winners
Excellent antibiotic stewards are recognized regularly throughout the year and rewarded with fame and fortune in the form of acknowledgement in the ASP newsletter and a gift card to a local dining establishment. Listed below are the Gold Star winners for April and May:
- Tisha Yeh (Peds)
- Felipe Arredondo (IM)