Characterizing Risk Factors for Clostridioides difficile Infection among Hospitalized Patients with Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) are at risk of developing Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). We developed and tested clinical decision rules for identifying CDI risk in this patient population. The study was a single-center retrospective, case-control analysis of hospitalized adult patients empirically treated for CAP between 1 January 2014 and 3 March 2018. Differences between cases (CDI diagnosed within 180 days following admission) and controls (no test result indicating CDI during the study period) with respect to prehospitalization variables were modeled to generate propensity scores. Postadmission variables were used to predict case status on each postadmission day where (i) ≥1 additional case was identified and (ii) each model stratum contained ≥15 subjects. Models were developed and tested using optimal discriminant analysis and classification tree analysis. Forty-four cases and 181 controls were included. The median time to diagnosis was 50 days postadmission. After weighting, three models were identified (20, 117, and 165 days postadmission). The day 20 model yielded the greatest (weighted [w]) accuracy (weighted area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [wROC area] = 0.826) and the highest chance-corrected accuracy (weighted effect strength for sensitivity [wESS] = 65.3). Having a positive culture (odds, 1:4; P = 0.001), receipt of ceftriaxone plus azithromycin for a defined infection (odds, 3:5; P = 0.006), and continuation of empirical broad-spectrum antibiotics with activity against P. aeruginosa when no pathogen was identified (odds, 1:8; P = 0.013) were associated with CDI on day 20. Three models were identified that accurately predicted CDI in hospitalized patients treated for CAP. Antibiotic use increased the risk of CDI in all models, underscoring the importance of antibiotic stewardship.

Measuring the impact of varying denominator definitions on standardized antibiotic consumption rates: implications for antimicrobial stewardship programmes.

Objectives: To quantify the impact of varying the at-risk days definition on the overall report of at-risk days and on the calculated standardized consumption rates (SCRs) for piperacillin/tazobactam, amikacin, daptomycin and vancomycin. Methods: Data were evaluated for two system hospitals, an 894 bed academic centre and a 114 bed community hospital. Aggregate inpatient antibiotic administration and occupancy data were extracted from electronic databases at the facility-wide level. Occupancy data were reported from admission-discharge-transfer systems. At-risk days were defined as hospital days present (DP), patient days (PD), persons present (PP) and billing days (BD). Inpatient antimicrobial days of therapy (DOT) across four major antimicrobial agents were used to calculate facility-wide SCRs using each denominator and were evaluated by least-squares regression and R2 values. Results: Within the 894 bed academic hospital, the average monthly facility-wide days were 28 424, 22 198, 15 957 and 14 789 by the DP, PP, PD and BD definitions, respectively. Within the 114 bed community hospital, the average monthly facility-wide days were 5175, 3523 and 2816 by the DP, PP and PD definitions, respectively. Strong concordance was observed between facility-wide SCRs using the DP and PP definitions in both the academic (R2 = 0.99, y = 0.78x - 0.001) and community (R2 = 0.99, y = 0.68x - 0.03) centres across all four inpatient antibiotics evaluated. In an analysis of piperacillin/tazobactam SCRs, rates were over-predicted by 28%-93% at the facility-wide level across centres using alternative denominators. Conclusions: We found that data source and definitions of at-risk denominator days meaningfully impact antibiotic SCRs. Centres should carefully consider these potential sources of variation when setting consumption benchmarks and internally evaluating use.

Investigation of a pseudo-outbreak of Mycobacterium franklinni.

Mycobacterium franklinni is a ubiquitous organism that can cause lung, skin, and soft tissue infections. Due to its pervasive nature, it can be a source of outbreaks via contamination of shared medical equipment or tools. When investigating outbreaks of this type of organism it is important to consider the clinical picture of the patient when evaluating if there is a pseudo-outbreak as well as identifying if treatment is needed for patients.

High-level disinfection evaluation in the ambulatory setting.

High level disinfection (HLD) is a complex process, requiring appropriate materials and highly trained personnel. An investigation of the HLD process was performed at an outpatient urology practice upon notification of expired chemical test strips being utilized. Infection Prevention (IP) identified various breaches in the reprocessing of flexible cystoscopes and transrectal prostate biopsy probes. Contributing factors identified were gaps in staff training, availability of all necessary supplies and staff supervision.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales standardization across a large health care system.

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are multidrug resistant organisms that pose a significant risk in the health care setting. Standardized identification ensures prompt isolation and is imperative to maintain patient safety.

Incorporating structured linen oversight into an infection prevention program.

Hospital linen is a potential source for health care acquired infections. The elements of cleaning, transport and storage should be part of an Infection Prevention (IP) consult. The incorporation of linen reprocessing into the IP program ensures compliance with linen standards and patient safety.

A systemwide approach to validation of electronic device denominator data.

A multidisciplinary team collaborated to develop and validate a process to electronically capture patient and device denominator data at 6 hospitals in the same healthcare system. Validation was completed within 4-16 months. Manual count errors were identified as the main driver of electronic versus manual discrepancies.

Impact of COVID-19 on hospital acquired infections.

While there are established and effective guidelines for prevention of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on those implemented practices and policies have not been thoroughly investigated. This report examines the impact of COVID-19 on HAI rates at 2 hospitals within the same healthcare system. HAIs significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic which correlated with the use of overtime and agency nursing hours.

Developing an infection prevention program by leveraging the APIC competency model.

Health care systems are expanding and the health care industry is growing in complexity, necessitating the importance of competent Infection Preventionists (IPs). At Northwestern Medicine, a health care system consisting of diverse facilities with varied patient populations and environments of care, the need for a standardized approach to developing competent IPs became apparent. This Infection Prevention department utilized the APIC Competency Model to develop a framework for Infection Prevention program development, including a standardized orientation guide and career ladder.

Occupational COVID-19 exposures and secondary cases among healthcare personnel.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare personnel (HCP) have been at high risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, both from patients and co-workers. This paper summarizes occupational exposures to SARS-CoV-2 and secondary cases among HCP at a large health system. Key findings indicate that transmission of COVID-19 to HCP is low, especially with close adherence to PPE guidelines, but lapses in infection prevention practices, including dining together and omitting eye protection during patient care, especially at times when COVID-19 is circulating widely in the community increase the risk of exposure and subsequent transmission to HCP.

Effects of mumps outbreak in hospital, Chicago, Illinois, USA, 2006.

In 2006, nearly 6,000 mumps cases were reported in the United States, 795 of which occurred in Illinois. In Chicago, 1 healthcare institution experienced ongoing transmission for 4 weeks. This study examines the outbreak epidemiology and quantifies the financial affect on this organization. This retrospective cohort study was conducted through case and exposure identification, interviews, medical record reviews, and immunologic testing of blood specimens. Nine mumps cases resulted in 339 exposures, 325 (98%) among employees. During initial investigation, 186 (57%) of the exposed employees had evidence of mumps immunity. Physicians made up the largest group of noncompliers (55%) with mumps immunity testing. The cost to the institution was $262,788 or $29,199 per mumps case. The outbreak resulted in substantial staffing and financial challenges for the institution that may have been minimized with readily accessible electronic employee vaccination records and adherence to infection control recommendations.

Healthcare system strategy for seasonal influenza implementation plan.

Healthcare systems are expanding, no longer bound by county, state or country, thus necessitating the importance of consistent and standardized guidelines for the management and control of communicable diseases, including influenza. As a healthcare system consisting of diverse facilities with a focus not only on safe patient care but also patient satisfaction, there was a clear need for a multifaceted approach to manage influenza across the system. This resulted in the development of a strategic plan for decision-making, depiction of data and dissemination of information at both a system- and local facility-level.

Diagnostic stewardship of C. difficile testing: a quasi-experimental antimicrobial stewardship study.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated whether a diagnostic stewardship initiative consisting of ASP preauthorization paired with education could reduce false-positive hospital-onset (HO) Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). DESIGN: Single center, quasi-experimental study. SETTING: Tertiary academic medical center in Chicago, Illinois. PATIENTS: Adult inpatients were included in the intervention if they were admitted between October 1, 2016, and April 30, 2018, and were eligible for C. difficile preauthorization review. Patients admitted to the stem cell transplant (SCT) unit were not included in the intervention and were therefore considered a contemporaneous noninterventional control group. INTERVENTION: The intervention consisted of requiring prescriber attestation that diarrhea has met CDI clinical criteria, ASP preauthorization, and verbal clinician feedback. Data were compared 33 months before and 19 months after implementation. Facility-wide HO-CDI incidence rates (IR) per 10,000 patient days (PD) and standardized infection ratios (SIR) were extracted from hospital infection prevention reports. RESULTS: During the entire 52 month period, the mean facility-wide HO-CDI-IR was 7.8 per 10,000 PD and the SIR was 0.9 overall. The mean ± SD HO-CDI-IR (8.5 ± 2.0 vs 6.5 ± 2.3; P < .001) and SIR (0.97 ± 0.23 vs 0.78 ± 0.26; P = .015) decreased from baseline during the intervention. Segmented regression models identified significant decreases in HO-CDI-IR (Pstep = .06; Ptrend = .008) and SIR (Pstep = .1; Ptrend = .017) trends concurrent with decreases in oral vancomycin (Pstep < .001; Ptrend < .001). HO-CDI-IR within a noninterventional control unit did not change (Pstep = .125; Ptrend = .115). CONCLUSIONS: A multidisciplinary, multifaceted intervention leveraging clinician education and feedback reduced the HO-CDI-IR and the SIR in select populations. Institutions may consider interventions like ours to reduce false-positive C. difficile NAAT tests.

Contamination of examination gloves in patient rooms and implications for transmission of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms .

An assessment of bacterial contamination on examination gloves indicated that contaminated gloves may be a mechanism of indirect bacterial transmission from the hands of healthcare workers to patients. This mechanism is indicated by the recovery of identical Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from gloves and from the clinical cultures of a patient with invasive infection.

Correlation between hospital-level antibiotic consumption and incident health care facility-onset Clostridium difficile infection.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this single-center, ecologic study is to characterize the relationship between facility-wide (FacWide) antibiotic consumption and incident health care facility-onset Clostridium difficile infection (HO-CDI). METHODS: FacWide antibiotic consumption and incident HO-CDI were tallied on a monthly basis and standardized, from January 2013 through April 2015. Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients were calculated using matched-months analysis and a 1-month delay. Regression analyses were performed, with P < .05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: FacWide analysis identified a matched-months correlation between ceftriaxone and HO-CDI (ρ = 0.44, P = .018). A unit of stem cell transplant recipients did not have significant correlation between carbapenems and HO-CDI in matched months (ρ = 0.37, P = .098), but a significant correlation was observed when a 1-month lag was applied (ρ = 0.54, P = .014). DISCUSSION: Three statistically significant lag associations were observed between FacWide/unit-level antibiotic consumption and HO-CDI, and 1 statistically significant nonlagged association was observed FacWide. Antibiotic consumption may convey extended ward-level risk for incident CDI. CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of antibiotic agents may have immediate and prolonged influence on incident CDI. Additional studies are needed to investigate the immediate and delayed associations between antibiotic consumption and C difficile colonization, infection, and transmission at the hospital level.

Respiratory syncytial virus outbreak on an adult stem cell transplant unit.

BACKGROUND: An increase in respiratory syncytial virus type B (RSV-B) infections was detected on an adult hematology/oncology and stem cell transplant unit during March 2015. This prompted an outbreak investigation. METHODS: Nosocomial cases were defined as RSV-B-positive patients who developed respiratory virus symptoms ≥ 7 days after admission to the unit or were readmitted with symptoms ≤ 7 days since last discharge from the unit. Strict outbreak control measures were implemented to stop the outbreak. RESULTS: During the outbreak, 19 cases of RSV-B were detected, 14 among patients and 5 among health care workers (HCWs). Additionally, 2 HCWs tested positive for respiratory syncytial virus type A and 1 tested positive for influenza B among the 27 symptomatic HCWs evaluated. No specific antiviral therapy was given and all cases recovered without progression to lower respiratory tract infection. After no new cases were identified for 2 weeks, the outbreak was declared over. CONCLUSIONS: High vigilance for respiratory viruses on high-risk inpatient units is required for detection and prevention of potential outbreaks. Multiple respiratory viruses with outbreak potential were identified among HCWs. HCWs with respiratory virus symptoms should not provide direct patient care. Absence of lower respiratory tract infection suggests lower virulence of RSV-B, compared with respiratory syncytial virus type A, among immunocompromised adults.

Triage documentation-based decision support to improve infectious disease risk screening and mitigate exposure.

Multidisciplinary focus group review of current triage practice identified gaps in identification of potentially infectious diseases. Modifications were made to triage and nursing assessment forms that were easy to maneuver, rapidly modifiable, and provided documentation-based decision support to expedite infection prevention measures. Development of a decision support infectious disease risk screening tool enhances outbreak preparedness, occupational safety, and response.

Inappropriate Clostridium difficile Testing and Consequent Overtreatment and Inaccurate Publicly Reported Metrics.

BACKGROUND The nationally reported metric for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) relies solely on laboratory testing, which can result in overreporting due to asymptomatic C. difficile colonization. OBJECTIVE To review the clinical scenarios of cases of healthcare facility-onset CDI (HO-CDI) and to determine the appropriateness of C. difficile testing on the basis of presence of symptomatic diarrhea in order to identify areas for improvement. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a large, tertiary academic hospital in Chicago, Illinois. PATIENTS The cohort included all patients with a positive C. difficile test result who were reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network as HO-CDI during a 1-year study period. METHODS We reviewed the clinical scenario of each HO-CDI case. On the basis of documentation and predefined criteria, appropriateness of C. difficile testing was determined; cases were deemed appropriate, inappropriate, or indeterminate. Statistical analysis was performed to compare demographic and clinical parameters among the categories of testing appropriateness. RESULTS Our facility reported 168 HO-CDI cases to NHSN during the study period. Of 168 cases, 33 (19.6%) were judged to be appropriate tests, 25 (14.8%) were considered inappropriate, and 110 (65.5%) were indeterminate. Elimination of inappropriate testing would have improved our facility's standardized infection ratio from 0.962 to 0.819. CONCLUSION Approximately 15% of HO-CDI cases were judged to be tested inappropriately. Testing only patients with clinically significant diarrhea would more accurately estimate CDI incidence, reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, and improve facilities' performance of reportable CDI metrics. Improved documentation could facilitate targeted interventions. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1395-1400.

Reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections in a neuro-spine intensive care unit.

A collaborative effort reduced catheter-associated urinary tract infections in the neuro-spine intensive care unit where the majority of infections occurred at our institution. Our stepwise approach included retrospective data review, daily rounding with clinicians, developing and implementing an action plan, conducting practice audits, and sharing of real-time data outcomes. The catheter-associated urinary tract infection rate was reduced from 8.18 to 0.93 per 1,000 catheter-days and standardized infection ratio decreased from 2.16 to 0.37.

Use of acid-fast bacilli staining to determine the need for airborne infection isolation precautions: a comparison of respiratory specimens.

Institution of appropriate airborne infection isolation (AII) precautions for patients with suspected Mycobacterium tuberculosis is critical to prevent disease transmission. We compared the yield of acid-fast bacilli smears from different types of respiratory specimens and found that smear sensitivity was highest for specimens obtained by endotracheal aspirates (92%), followed by sputum (79%), and then by bronchoalveolar lavage (37%). As a result of this study, our institutional policy regarding discontinuation of AII precautions was amended.