<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>Hand hygiene (HH) is the most effective way to prevent health care-associated infections and the spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. The aim of our study was to assess the existing HH resources and current HH practices at 2 hospitals in Athens, Greece.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Observational HH data and an inventory of HH resources were collected from 13 wards including medical/surgical, oncology/transplant and intensive care units, during 65, 1-hour observations periods.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>A total of 1271 HH opportunities were observed during the study period, including 944 of Health Care Workers (HCW) and 327 of visitors and parents. The nursing HH compliance was highest (49%) followed by medical compliance (24%, P &lt; 0.001). HCW HH compliance was highest in intensive care units and the transplant unit (64-87%). The rate of appropriate HH for HCW was 22.6%. HCW most commonly used soap and water (76.1%). The HH procedure was more likely to be appropriate when soap and water were used as compared with alcohol based hand rub (64.6% and 47.5%, P = 0.006). A marginally significant association was identified between the HH compliance rate and the number of alcohol based hand rub dispensers per room (P = 0.057). In visitors and parents, the HH compliance was found to be 19%, whereas the rate of appropriate HH was 8.9%.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Low levels of HH were observed.</p>

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>The objectives of this study were to provide a nationally representative analysis of antibiotic prescribing in outpatient paediatrics and to assess overall and class-specific antibiotic costs in Greece.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Data on antibiotic prescriptions for patients aged ≤19 years old between July 2010 and June 2013 in Greece were extracted from the IMS Health Xponent database. Antibiotics were grouped into narrow- and broad-spectrum agents. The number of prescribed antibiotics and census denominators were used to calculate prescribing rates. The total costs associated with prescribed antibiotics were calculated.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>More than 7 million antibiotics were prescribed during the study period, with an annual rate of 1100 antibiotics/1000 persons. Prescribing rates were higher among children aged &lt;10 years old. Acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) accounted for 80% of prescribed antibiotics, with acute otitis media (22.3%), acute tonsillitis (19.5%) and acute bronchitis/bronchiolitis (13.9%) being the most common clinical diagnoses. Cephalosporins (32.9%), penicillins (32.3%) and macrolides (32.1%) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotic classes. The majority (90.4%) of antibiotics were broad spectrum. Antibiotic expenditures totalled ∼€50 million.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing is common in outpatient paediatric patients. These data provide important targets to inform the development of an outpatient antimicrobial stewardship programme targeting specific practices, providers and conditions.</p>