Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2009

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

DNP

College

School of Nursing

Department

Not Listed

Abstract

Background and significance. Over half of all hospitalized patients are treated with antibiotics and antibiotic use is rising. There has been a 500% increase in antibiotic associated diarrhea, a common side effect of antibiotic use, in the last decade. Probiotics are a safe and cost effective measure to prevent or reduce antibiotic associated diarrhea.;Problem statement. The majority of patients admitted to the medical intensive care unit receive antibiotic therapy; however, few are prescribed probiotic therapy concurrent with antibiotics.;Project design. Education was provided to health care providers regarding antibiotic associated diarrhea and the benefits of probiotic use. A guideline was developed to assist health care providers in ordering probiotics.;Evaluation plan. Health care providers' knowledge, attitude, and beliefs, pre and post education intervention were evaluated. Probiotic prescribing rates were tracked pre and post intervention.;Results. There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge and a significant change in attitude after the education intervention. There was also a 2 fold increase in prescribing rates; however a very small number of probiotics were prescribed.;Recommendations. Attempt this practice change on a unit with a more stable staff and a non ICU population. Potentially use yogurt instead of a probiotic tablet in the practice guideline. Also, soliciting change champions may promote probiotic use. Using a flag in the medication ordering system to remind providers to order a probiotic or yogurt concurrently with antibiotic therapy may also increase probiotic prescription rates. Additional research at the institution is recommended to demonstrate the effectiveness of probiotics.

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