Examples of PPS tools

The use of PPS within local or national antimicrobial stewardship or surveillance programmes has become more common in recent years.

Between 2006 and 2009, PPS were carried out by the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC) programme. These surveys developed and refined a standardised dataset for collection. In the last of these surveys, data were collected from nearly 200 hospitals across 25 European countries.

In 2011, ESAC was integrated into the work of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The initial standard dataset used by ESAC was adapted and used for a combined PPS on healthcare associated infection and antimicrobial use in 2011 and 2016.

The net reporting protocol for the 2019 survey is available here or you can view the PDF in downloads. The ECDC document “ECDC Point Prevalence Survey of healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals, 2011-2012” which explains the objectives of the PPS survey is also available in downloads.

ECDC PPS of HAIs and antimicrobial use in EU hospitals: Objectives

To estimate the total burden of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) and antimicrobial use in European acute care hospitals.

To describe HAIs and prescribed antimicrobials – By type of patient, specialty, type of healthcare facility

By EU country, adjusted or stratified.

To disseminate results to those who need to know at local, regional, national and EU level

To raise awareness

To train personnel and reinforce surveillance structures and skills

To identify common EU issues and set up priorities

To evaluate the effect of strategies and guide policies (repeated PPS)

To provide a standardised tool for the identification of targets for quality improvement

The ESAC and subsequent ECDC PPS programmes involved data collection in acute hospitals.

However, PPS methods can be applied to obtain data about antibiotic use in more defined settings.

For instance, PPS methods can be applied in long-term care facilities. The ECDC has developed an international protocol for PPS in long-term care facilities such as nursing or care homes for older people.

Visit the ECDC website PPS survey reports on HAI in acute care hospitals and HAI in long-term care facilities.

In 2011, the Antibiotic Resistance and Prescribing in European Children (ARPEC) project conducted a PPS in neonates and paediatrics in 73 hospitals worldwide.

For more details on the approach and the results please read this paper: The antibiotic resistance and prescribing in European children project: a neonatal and pediatric antimicrobial web-based point prevalence survey in 73 hospitals worldwide. Versporten A, Sharland M, Bielicki J et al. Infect Dis J 2013; 32: e242–53.

The approach used in the APREC project has been incorporated into the work of the The Global Antimicrobial Resistance, Prescribing, and Efficacy among Neonates and Children (GARPEC) project. For more information on GARPEC please visit their website.

Do you think any of these tools could be applied to conducting a PPS where you work? Discuss your thoughts in the comments section.