Development and Application of an Antibiotic Spectrum Index for Benchmarking Antibiotic Selection Patterns Across Hospitals

Abstract

Standard metrics for antimicrobial use consider volume but not spectrum of antimicrobial prescribing. We developed an antibiotic spectrum index (ASI) to classify commonly used antibiotics based on activity against important pathogens. The application of this index to hospital antibiotic use reveals how this tool enhances current antimicrobial stewardship metrics. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:993-997.