Preauthorization policy failed to reduce unnecessary vancomycin use in pediatric hospital

Implementation of a preauthorization policy did not significantly decrease the use of vancomycin beyond that achieved with a prospective-audit and feedback policy at a tertiary pediatric teaching hospital, according to study results.An antimicrobial stewardship program was implemented in 2004 at the Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. The program incorporated antibiotic indications for vancomycin as a mandatory field in the institutional computerized physician/prescriber order entry, according to background information in the study.