Objective: To evaluate the impact of pharmacist interventions on antibiotic use in inpatients with respiratory tract infections in a tertiary hospital in China.

Method: Two independent respiratory wards were randomised into control and intervention group.  Between Jul 2009 and Apr 2010, all inpatients diagnosed with respiratory tract infections were enrolled.  Pharmacist interventions were performed on the physicians in the intervention group.  The total cost of hospitalisation, cost of antibiotics, length of hospital stay and the scores of 6 items of inappropriate antibiotic use (including indication, choice, dosage, dosing schedule, duration and conversion) were analysed.

Results: The total costs of hospitalisation in the intervention group were significantly lower compared to the control group ($1442.3 +/- 684.9 vs 1729.6 +/- 773.7, P less than 0.001), as well as the cost of antibiotics ($832.0 +/- 373.0 vs 943.9 +/- 412.0; P = 0.01), and the patients required shorter length of hospital stay (14.2 +/- 6.2 vs 15.8 +/- 6.0 days, P = 0.03).  The scores with respect to the 6 items of inappropriate antibiotic use were all lower in the intervention group than in the control group.

Conclusions: Pharmacist interventions, interacting directly with the physicians at ward level, could play an important role in optimising antibiotic use, thus leading to a reduction in patients' length of hospital stay and health care costs.