Comparison of antibiotic and acyclovir usage before and after the implementation of an on-site FilmArray meningitis/encephalitis panel in an academic tertiary pediatric hospital: a retrospective observational study

Table 3 Comparison of antibiotic and acyclovir usage between the control and mPCR group

	Control group	mPCR group	p value^a
I. Antibiotic therapy
Patients with suspicion of Meningitis/ Meningoencephalitis	42/46 (91.3%)	42/46 (91.3%)
Infants	28/29 (96.6%)	28/29 (96.6%)
≥ 1 year	14/17 (82.4%)	14/17 (82.4%)
LoT (antibiotics)	4.0 (3.0–5.0)	3.0 (1.0–5.0)	0.028
Infants	4.0 (3.5–5.5)	3.0 (2.0–5.0)	0.038
≥ 1 year	4.0 (3.0–5.0)	2.5 (1.0–7.0)	0.280
DoT (antibiotics)	6.0 (4.0–10.0)	4.0 (2.0–8.0)	0.023
Infants	8.0 (6.0–11.0)	6.0 (3.5–10.0)	0.015
≥ 1 year	4.0 (3.0–5.0)	2.5 (1.0–7.0)	0.280
II. Acyclovir therapy
Patients with suspicion of Meningoencephalitis/ Encephalitis	33/46 (71.7%)	33/46 (71.7%)
Infants	19/29 (65.5%)	19/29 (65.5%)
≥ 1 year	14/17 (82.4%)	14/17 (82.4%)
LoT (acyclovir)	3.0 (3.0–4.0)	1.0 (1.0–2.0)	< 0.001
Infants	3.0 (3.0–4.0)	1.0 (1.0–2.0)	< 0.001
≥ 1 year	3.0 (3.0–4.0)	1.0 (1.0–2.0)	< 0.001

The exact Mann-Whitney-U-Test was used to compare distributions of quantitative variables between independent groups. Quantitative data are described by median (M) and interquartile range (IQR). Categorical data are presented as absolute number/ total (percentage) [n/N (%)]
Abbreviations: multiplex PCR (mPCR), Length of Therapy (LoT), Days of Therapy (DoT)
^aThe p value always refers to the comparison of the number of patients being prescribed either antibiotics or acyclovir in the control and mPCR group

ISSN: 1471-2431