The Urine-culturing Cascade: Variation in Nursing Home Urine Culturing and Association With Antibiotic Use and Clostridiodes difficile Infection.

BACKGROUND: Rates of antibiotic use vary widely across nursing homes and cannot be explained by resident characteristics. Antibiotic prescribing for a presumed urinary tract infection is often preceded by inappropriate urine culturing. We examined nursing home urine-culturing practices and their association with antibiotic use. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal, multilevel, retrospective cohort study based on quarterly nursing home assessments between April 2014 and January 2017 in 591 nursing homes and covering >90% of nursing home residents in Ontario, Canada. Nursing home urine culturing was measured as the proportion of residents with a urine culture in the prior 14 days. Outcomes included receipt of any systemic antibiotic and any urinary antibiotic (eg, nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim/sulfonamides, ciprofloxacin) in the 30 days after the assessment and Clostridiodes difficile infection in the 90 days after the assessment. Adjusted Poisson regression models accounted for 14 resident covariates. RESULTS: A total of 131 218 residents in 591 nursing homes were included; 7.9% of resident assessments had a urine culture in the prior 14 days; this proportion was highly variable across the 591 nursing homes (10th percentile = 3.4%, 90th percentile = 14.3%). Before and after adjusting for 14 resident characteristics, nursing home urine culturing predicted total antibiotic use (adjusted risk ratio [RR] per doubling of urine culturing, 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-1.23), urinary antibiotic use (RR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.28-1.38), and C. difficile infection (incidence rate ratio, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.07-1.31). CONCLUSIONS: Nursing homes have highly divergent urine culturing rates; this variability is associated with higher antibiotic use and rates of C. difficile infection.

Scaling-up implementation in community hospitals: a multisite interrupted time series design of the Mobilization of Vulnerable Elders (MOVE) program in Alberta.

BACKGROUND: As the population ages, older hospitalized patients are at increased risk for hospital-acquired morbidity. The Mobilization of Vulnerable Elders (MOVE) program is an evidence-informed early mobilization intervention that was previously evaluated in Ontario, Canada. The program was effective at improving mobilization rates and decreasing length of stay in academic hospitals. The aim of this study was to scale-up the program and conduct a replication study evaluating the impact of the evidence-informed mobilization intervention on various units in community hospitals within a different Canadian province. METHODS: The MOVE program was tailored to the local context at four community hospitals in Alberta, Canada. The study population was patients aged 65 years and older who were admitted to medicine, surgery, rehabilitation and intensive care units between July 2015 and July 2016. The primary outcome was patient mobilization measured by conducting visual audits twice a week, three times a day. The secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay obtained from hospital administrative data, and perceptions of the intervention assessed through a qualitative assessment. Using an interrupted time series design, the intervention was evaluated over three time periods (pre-intervention, during, and post-intervention). RESULTS: A total of 3601 patients [mean age 80.1 years (SD = 8.4 years)] were included in the overall analysis. There was a significant increase in mobilization at the end of the intervention period compared to pre-intervention, with 6% more patients out of bed (95% confidence interval (CI) 1, 11; p-value = 0.0173). A decreasing trend in median length of stay was observed, where patients on average stayed an estimated 3.59 fewer days (95%CI -15.06, 7.88) during the intervention compared to pre-intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: MOVE is a low-cost, effective and adaptable intervention that improves mobilization in older hospitalized patients. This intervention has been replicated and scaled up across various units and hospital settings.

Lessons learned from implementing a surge capacity support program for COVID-19 contact management in Ontario.

SETTING: In Ontario, local public health units (PHUs) are responsible for leading case investigations, contact tracing, and follow-up. The workforce capacity and operational requirements needed to maintain this public health strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic were unprecedented. INTERVENTION: Public Health Ontario's Contact Tracing Initiative (CTI) was established to provide a centralized workforce. This program was unique in leveraging existing human resources from federal and provincial government agencies and its targeted focus on initial and follow-up phone calls to high-risk close contacts of COVID-19 cases. By setting criteria for submissions to the program, standardizing scripts, and simplifying the data management process, the CTI was able to support a high volume of calls. OUTCOMES: During its 23 months of operation, the CTI was used by 33 of the 34 PHUs and supported over a million calls to high-risk close contacts. This initiative was able to meet its objectives while adapting to the changing dynamics of the pandemic and the implementation of a new COVID-19 provincial information system. Core strengths of the CTI were timeliness, volume, and efficient use of resources. The CTI was found to be useful for school exposures, providing support when public health measures were lifted, and in supporting PHU's reallocation of resources during the vaccine roll-out. IMPLICATIONS: When considering future use of this model, it is important to take note of the program strengths and limitations to ensure alignment with future needs for surge capacity support. Lessons learned from this initiative could provide practice-relevant knowledge for surge capacity planning.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: En Ontario, ce sont les bureaux de santé publique qui s'occupent des enquêtes de cas, de la recherche des contacts et des suivis. Pendant la pandémie de COVID-19, les besoins opérationnels et de capacité de la main-d'œuvre à combler pour conserver cette stratégie de santé publique ont atteint une ampleur jamais vue. INTERVENTION: L'Initiative de recherche des contacts dans le cadre de la lutte contre la COVID-19 de Santé publique Ontario a été mise sur pied dans l'objectif de centraliser l'effectif. Mobilisant des ressources humaines d'organisations fédérales et provinciales, ce programme a permis de faire les appels initiaux et de suivi aux contacts étroits de cas de COVID-19 exposés à un risque élevé. Grâce à des critères bien établis pour les soumissions au programme, à l'uniformisation des scripts et à la simplification du processus de gestion des données, un grand volume d'appels a pu être traité. RéSULTATS: Durant les 23 mois de l'Initiative, 33 des 34 bureaux de santé publique y ont eu recours. Ce sont ainsi plus d'un million d'appels à des contacts étroits qui ont pu être faits. L'Initiative a permis d'atteindre les objectifs en s'adaptant au contexte pandémique en constante évolution et de mettre en œuvre un nouveau système de gestion des renseignements provinciaux sur la COVID-19. Ses grandes forces sont la rapidité, le volume et l'efficacité de l'utilisation des ressources. Elle a été particulièrement utile dans les cas d'exposition en milieu scolaire, permettant d'offrir du soutien à la levée des mesures sanitaires et d'aider à la réaffectation des ressources des bureaux de santé publique pendant la campagne de vaccination. CONSéQUENCES: Si l'on envisage de réutiliser ce modèle, il importe de tenir compte des forces et des faiblesses du programme pour qu'il cadre avec les besoins futurs de soutien en matière de capacité de mobilisation. Les leçons tirées de cette initiative pourraient s'avérer pertinentes pour la planification de cette capacité.

A cross-sectional study of hospital antimicrobial stewardship programmes in the COVID-19 era.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to be a global public health issue amid the COVID-19 pandemic; however, unprecedented demands on hospital antimicrobial stewardship programmes (ASPs) potentially altered their core activities. Objective: We sought to understand how ASPs have been involved in and impacted by the pandemic. Methods: The 2021 Ontario ASP Landscape Survey was developed based on previous provincial questionnaires and emerging literature on the impact of COVID-19 on hospital ASPs. After pre-testing and piloting, the online questionnaire was distributed to hospital antimicrobial stewardship practitioners in the fall of 2021. Descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis were performed. Results: The response rate was 78% (98/125 organizations); 96% (94/98) of organizations had or were in the process of formalizing an ASP and 53% (50/94) reported designated funding/resources. Despite 82% reporting no change in dedicated full-time equivalents during the pandemic, ASPs were frequently involved in developing treatment guidelines/clinical pathways (51%), anticipating/managing drug shortages (46%) and obtaining investigational use drugs (32%). While many core ASP activities continued, prospective audit and feedback and prescriber education were modified or suspended by 43% and 40% of programmes, respectively. Decreased frequency, adaptation of activities (i.e. virtual or other technology) and challenges with staffing/resources were commonly reported themes. Knowledge translation (KT) activities and 'collaboration and coordination' also emerged as salient themes. Conclusions: Hospital antimicrobial stewardship practitioners in Ontario have made significant contributions to the pandemic response while continuing to deliver adapted ASP services, despite resource constraints. Moving forward, ASPs will need to continue building capacity while leveraging broader networks to advance the antimicrobial stewardship agenda.

Virtual learning collaboratives to improve urine culturing and antibiotic prescribing in long-term care: controlled before-and-after study.

BACKGROUND: Urine culturing practices are highly variable in long-term care and contribute to overprescribing of antibiotics for presumed urinary tract infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of virtual learning collaboratives to support long-term care homes in implementing a quality improvement programme focused on reducing unnecessary urine culturing and antibiotic overprescribing. METHODS: Over a 4-month period (May 2018-August 2018), 45 long-term care homes were self-selected from five regions to participate in virtual learning collaborative sessions, which provided an orientation to a quality improvement programme and guidance for implementation. A process evaluation complemented the use of a controlled before-and-after study with a propensity score matched control group (n=127) and a difference-in-difference analysis. Primary outcomes included rates of urine cultures performed and urinary antibiotic prescriptions. Secondary outcomes included rates of emergency department visits, hospital admission and mortality. An 18-month baseline period was compared with a 16-month postimplementation period with the use of administrative data sources. RESULTS: Rates of urine culturing and urinary antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 resident days decreased significantly more among long-term care homes that participated in learning collaboratives compared with matched controls (differential reductions of 19% and 13%, respectively, p<0.0001). There was no statistically significant changes to rates of emergency department visits, hospital admissions or mortality. These outcomes were observed with moderate adherence to the programme model. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of urine culturing and urinary antibiotic prescriptions declined among long-term care homes that participated in a virtual learning collaborative to support implementation of a quality improvement programme. The results of this study have refined a model to scale this programme in long-term care.

Influencing duration of antibiotic therapy: A behavior change analysis in long-term care.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged antibiotic duration of therapy is common in long-term care (LTC) settings and associated with increased risk of harm for residents. To identify potential antibiotic stewardship opportunities aimed at prolonged duration of therapy, this study examined barriers and enablers to using shorter courses of antibiotic therapy in the LTC setting. METHODS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with prescribers in LTC home settings, and a total of 8 LTC clinicians participated in the study. Questions and clinical scenarios explored the factors influencing the decisions of prescribers about duration of therapy. Using the Theoretical Domains Framework, interview data were analyzed deductively. RESULTS: The themes identified that influence duration of antibiotic therapy in LTC were environmental context and resources, knowledge, beliefs about consequences, social influences, and behavioral regulation. Specific concerns described by participants included the perceived lack of evidence to support shorter courses in LTC residents, the misconception that shorter courses could lead to greater rates of resistance, and the strong role of habit and prior experience in selecting antibiotic duration. DISCUSSION: There are several factors affecting antimicrobial duration prescribing behavior aside from the clinical scenario itself. Tackling misconceptions and providing educational support may be helpful approaches. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide theory-informed evidence to support the development of antimicrobial stewardship interventions aimed at improving duration of antibiotic therapy.

Reducing unnecessary urine culturing and antibiotic overprescribing in long-term care: a before-and-after analysis.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic use in long-term care homes is highly variable. High rates of antibiotic use are associated with antibiotic resistance and Clostridium difficile infection. We asked 2 questions regarding a program designed to improve diagnosis and management of urinary tract infections in long-term care: whether the program decreased urine culturing and antibiotic prescribing rates and whether specific strategies of the program were more or less likely to be adopted. METHODS: The study included 10 long-term care homes in Ontario, Canada, between December 2015 and May 2017. We assessed the implementation of the program's 9 strategies via semistructured interviews with key informants. Using a before-and-after study design, and on the basis of monthly facility-level records, we measured changes in the rates of urine specimens sent for culture and susceptibility testing, prescriptions for antibiotics commonly used to treat urinary tract infections and total antibiotic prescriptions, using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Participating homes implemented an average of 6.1 of the 9 strategies. Urine culturing decreased from 3.20 to 2.09 per 1000 resident-days from the baseline to the intervention phase (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRRadjusted] = 0.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.63-0.82), urinary antibiotic prescriptions fell from 1.52 to 0.83 per 1000 resident-days (IRRadjusted = 0.60, 95% CI 0.47-0.74) and total antibiotic prescriptions fell from 3.85 to 2.60 per 1000 resident-days (IRRadjusted = 0.74, 95% CI 0.65-0.83). After adjusting for secular trends, these reductions were not statistically significant. INTERPRETATION: We demonstrated a reduction in urine culturing and antibiotic use following implementation of the Urinary Tract Infection Program. This initial analysis supports a broader implementation of this program, although ongoing evaluation is required to monitor secular trends in urine culturing and antibiotic use.

A recipe for antimicrobial stewardship success: Using intervention mapping to develop a program to reduce antibiotic overuse in long-term care.

OBJECTIVE: To better understand barriers and facilitators that contribute to antibiotic overuse in long-term care and to use this information to inform an evidence and theory-informed program. METHODS: Information on barriers and facilitators associated with the assessment and management of urinary tract infections were identified from a mixed-methods survey and from focus groups with stakeholders working in long-term care. Each barrier or facilitator was mapped to corresponding determinants of behavior change, as described by the theoretical domains framework (TDF). The Rx for Change database was used to identify strategies to address the key determinants of behavior change. RESULTS: In total, 19 distinct barriers and facilitators were mapped to 8 domains from the TDF: knowledge, skills, environmental context and resources, professional role or identity, beliefs about consequences, social influences, emotions, and reinforcements. The assessment of barriers and facilitators informed the need for a multifaceted approach with the inclusion of strategies (1) to establish buy-in for the changes; (2) to align organizational policies and procedures; (3) to provide education and ongoing coaching support to staff; (4) to provide information and education to residents and families; (5) to establish process surveillance with feedback to staff; and (6) to deliver reminders. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a stepped approach was valuable to ensure that locally relevant barriers and facilitators to practice change were addressed in the development of a regional program to help long-term care facilities minimize antibiotic prescribing for asymptomatic bacteriuria. This stepped approach provides considerable opportunity to advance the design and impact of antimicrobial stewardship programs.