How much money can be saved by applying intravenous antibiotics once instead of several times a day?
GROUND: The preparation, administration and monitoring of intravenous (IV) applications are time consuming and require human resources. We estimated the potential time and cost savings by replacing antibiotics given 3-4 times daily with antibiotics with similar spectrum and efficacy given once daily. METHODS: The savings of indirect costs were estimated based on the antibiotic consumption data of a two-year period (i.e. 2007 and 2008), a nurse’s mean workload per application and the average nurse’s salary in Switzerland. RESULTS: The consumption of IV antibiotics in 2007 and 2008 at the University Hospital of Basel was 29.0 and 32.2 defined daily doses (DDD) per 100 patient days, respectively. Nurses spent an estimated 13,786 h on the application of the estimated 82,715 does of IV antibiotics. A total of 56,404 applications or nursing staff time costs of 338,436 Swiss Francs (CHF; 236,669
