Diagnostic Stewardship Cuts Testing in Sick Infants

Clinical decision support reduced potentially unnecessary respiratory cultures in critically ill children without evidence of patient harm

1

Clinical decision support reduced respiratory culture use by 16% across 15 US pediatric intensive care units without adverse patient outcomes.
2

Endotracheal aspirate cultures often indicate colonization rather than infection, contributing to overdiagnosis and unnecessary antibiotic treatment.
3

The study evaluated a diagnostic stewardship program implemented from 2019 to 2023, focusing on standardizing culture collection practices.
4

The adjusted mean monthly culture rate fell from 7.80 to 6.55 cultures per 100 ventilator-days after the program's implementation.
5

Reducing testing did not increase bronchoalveolar lavage cultures, length of stay, readmissions, or antibiotic use, indicating safety in the approach.

1