Antibiotic streamlining: monitoring and compliance.

The principles of antibiotic streamlining are discussed. At the University of Nebraska Medical Center, antibiotic streamlining is conducted through the coordination of decentralized pharmacists and a comprehensive drug-usage evaluation program. Streamlining is focused on reducing redundant antibiotic coverages and converting from i.v. to oral therapy whenever possible. Examples include switching from i.v. to oral ciprofloxacin and reducing the number of ampicillin-sulbactam, clindamycin combinations. Benefits and drawbacks of the program are discussed.