Experience and Perspectives on Antibacterial Therapy for Listeriosis in a Tertiary Teaching Hospital in China: A Retrospective Study and Health Care Provider Survey.

Abstract

Listeriosis is a rare, life-threatening bacterial infection. Prompt, appropriate antibiotic treatment is essential to save lives. We aimed to investigate antibiotic selection and listeriosis knowledge among health care providers. We first performed a retrospective study on patients with listeriosis who were treated in a hospital in China from January 2013 to March 2023. Patient characteristics and antibiotic selections were recorded. Antibiotics were classified as effective or ineffective based on the efficacy classifications listed in The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy (50^th edition). We then conducted a questionnaire survey of health care providers to investigate their listeriosis knowledge and practices between April 2023 to May 2023. Fifteen listeriosis patients were identified, with a case fatality rate of 26.7% (4/15). Empirical treatments assessed as effective antibiotics or ineffective antibiotics were given to 33.3% (5/15) and 66.7% (10/15) of the patients, respectively. After Listeria monocytogenes was identified, 40% (6/15) of the patients received an adjustment to their antibiotics, although 50% (3/6) patients still received ineffective antibiotics. The questionnaire survey of 77 participating health care providers showed that 32.9% (24/73) of the clinicians were unaware of the appropriate antibiotics for listeriosis. Most participants (83.1%, 64/77) would read the drug sensitivity report before selecting the antibiotics. The selection of effective antibiotics differed between the infectious diseases department and other departments (p < 0.001), but did not differ between junior title and other titles (p = 0.088). Most patients with listeriosis did not receive appropriate antibiotics, which might have accounted for the high fatality rate, and may have resulted from inadequate listeriosis knowledge. More education and correct reporting of drug sensitivity results are urgently needed.