Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in people living with HIV: a review.

Pneumocystis jirovecii is a ubiquitous opportunistic fungus that can cause life-threatening pneumonia. People with HIV (PWH) who have low CD4 counts are one of the populations at the greatest risk of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP). While guidelines have approached the diagnosis, prophylaxis, and management of PCP, the numerous studies of PCP in PWH are dominated by the 1980s and 1990s. As such, most studies have included younger male populations, despite PCP affecting both sexes and a broad age range. Many studies have been small and observational in nature, with an overall lack of randomized controlled trials. In many jurisdictions, and especially in low- and middle-income countries, the diagnosis can be challenging due to lack of access to advanced and/or invasive diagnostics. Worldwide, most patients will be treated with 21 days of high-dose trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole, although both the dose and the duration are primarily based on historical practice. Whether treatment with a lower dose is as effective and less toxic is gaining interest based on observational studies. Similarly, a 21-day tapering regimen of prednisone is used for patients with more severe disease, yet other doses, other steroids, or shorter durations of treatment with corticosteroids have not been evaluated. Now with the widespread availability of antiretroviral therapy, improved and less invasive PCP diagnostic techniques, and interest in novel treatment strategies, this review consolidates the scientific body of literature on the diagnosis and management of PCP in PWH, as well as identifies areas in need of more study and thoughtfully designed clinical trials.

Management of infectious disease syndromes in thoracic organ transplants and mechanical circulatory device recipients: a Delphi panel.

PURPOSE: Antimicrobial misuse contributes to antimicrobial resistance in thoracic transplant (TTx) and mechanical circulatory support (MCS) recipients. This study uses a modified Delphi method to define the expected appropriate antimicrobial prescribing for the common clinical scenarios encountered in TTx and MCS recipients. METHODS: An online questionnaire on managing 10 common infectious disease syndromes was submitted to a multidisciplinary Delphi panel of 25 experts from various disciplines. Consensus was predefined as 80% agreement for each question. Questions where consensus was not achieved were discussed during live virtual live sessions adapted by an independent process expert. RESULTS: An online survey of 62 questions related to 10 infectious disease syndromes was submitted to the Delphi panel. In the first round of the online questionnaire, consensus on antimicrobial management was reached by 6.5% (4/62). In Round 2 online live discussion, the remaining 58 questions were discussed among the Delphi Panel members using a virtual meeting platform. Consensus was reached among 62% (36/58) of questions. Agreement was not reached regarding the antimicrobial management of the following six clinical syndromes: (1) Burkholderia cepacia pneumonia (duration of therapy); (2) Mycobacterium abscessus (intra-operative antimicrobials); (3) invasive aspergillosis (treatment of culture-negative but positive BAL galactomannan) (duration of therapy); (4) respiratory syncytial virus (duration of antiviral therapy); (5) left ventricular assist device deep infection (initial empirical antimicrobial coverage) and (6) CMV (duration of secondary prophylaxis). CONCLUSION: This Delphi panel developed consensus-based recommendations for 10 infectious clinical syndromes seen in TTx and MCS recipients.

Implementation of Virtual Interactive Cases for Pharmacy Education: A Single-Center Experience.

Patient case simulation software are described in pharmacy education literature as useful tools to improve skills in patient assessment (including medication history-taking and physical assessment), clinical reasoning and communication, and are typically well-received by students and instructors. The virtual interactive case (VIC) system is a web-based software developed to deliver deliberate practice opportunities in simulated patient encounters across a spectrum of clinical topics. This article describes the implementation and utilization of VIC in the undergraduate curriculum at one Canadian pharmacy school. Methods: At our facility, the use of VIC was integrated across the training spectrum in the curriculum, including core and elective didactic courses and practice labs, experiential learning, interprofessional education, and continuing education. Its use was evaluated through student and instructor surveys and qualitative student interviews). VIC is easy to navigate and created a positive and realistic learning environment. Students identified that it enhanced their ability to identify relevant patient information, accurately simulated hospital pharmacy practice and thereby helped them to prepare for their upcoming experiential courses. The use of VIC has expanded beyond its original intended purpose for individual student practice to become a valuable addition to pharmacy undergraduate education. Future plans include ongoing development of cases and exploration of further uses of VIC within the didactic curriculum, for remediation in experiential courses, and for pharmacist continuing education.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination Is Associated With Reduced Outpatient Antibiotic Prescribing in Older Adults With Confirmed Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2: A Population-Wide Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotics are frequently prescribed unnecessarily in outpatients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We sought to evaluate factors associated with antibiotic prescribing in outpatients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. METHODS: We performed a population-wide cohort study of outpatients aged ≥66 years with polymerase chain reaction-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021 in Ontario, Canada. We determined rates of antibiotic prescribing within 1 week before (prediagnosis) and 1 week after (postdiagnosis) reporting of the positive SARS-CoV-2 result, compared to a self-controlled period (baseline). We evaluated predictors of prescribing, including a primary-series COVID-19 vaccination, in univariate and multivariable analyses. RESULTS: We identified 13 529 eligible nursing home residents and 50 885 eligible community-dwelling adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of the nursing home and community residents, 3020 (22%) and 6372 (13%), respectively, received at least 1 antibiotic prescription within 1 week of a SARS-CoV-2 positive result. Antibiotic prescribing in nursing home and community residents occurred, respectively, at 15.0 and 10.5 prescriptions per 1000 person-days prediagnosis and 20.9 and 9.8 per 1000 person-days postdiagnosis, higher than the baseline rates of 4.3 and 2.5 prescriptions per 1000 person-days. COVID-19 vaccination was associated with reduced prescribing in nursing home and community residents, with adjusted postdiagnosis incidence rate ratios (95% confidence interval) of 0.7 (0.4-1) and 0.3 (0.3-0.4), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic prescribing was high and with little or no decline following SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis but was reduced in COVID-19-vaccinated individuals, highlighting the importance of vaccination and antibiotic stewardship in older adults with COVID-19.

Machine Learning on Medicare Claims Poorly Predicts the Individual Risk of 30-Day Unplanned Readmission After Total Joint Arthroplasty, Yet Uncovers Interesting Population-level Associations With Annual Procedure Volumes.

BACKGROUND: Unplanned hospital readmissions after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) represent potentially serious adverse events and remain a critical measure of hospital quality. Predicting the risk of readmission after TJA may provide patients and clinicians with valuable information for preoperative decision-making. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) Can nonlinear machine-learning models integrating preoperatively available patient, surgeon, hospital, and county-level information predict 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions in a large cohort of nationwide Medicare beneficiaries undergoing TJA? (2) Which predictors are the most important in predicting 30-day unplanned hospital readmissions? (3) What specific information regarding population-level associations can we obtain from interpreting partial dependency plots (plots describing, given our modeling choice, the potentially nonlinear shape of associations between predictors and readmissions) of the most important predictors of 30-day readmission? METHODS: National Medicare claims data (chosen because this database represents a large proportion of patients undergoing TJA annually) were analyzed for patients undergoing inpatient TJA between October 2016 and September 2018. A total of 679,041 TJAs (239,391 THAs [61.3% women, 91.9% White, 52.6% between 70 and 79 years old] and 439,650 TKAs [63.3% women, 90% White, 55.2% between 70 and 79 years old]) were included. Model features included demographics, county-level social determinants of health, prior-year (365-day) hospital and surgeon TJA procedure volumes, and clinical classification software-refined diagnosis and procedure categories summarizing each patient's Medicare claims 365 days before TJA. Machine-learning models, namely generalized additive models with pairwise interactions (prediction models consisting of both univariate predictions and pairwise interaction terms that allow for nonlinear effects), were trained and evaluated for predictive performance using area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC; 1.0 = perfect discrimination, 0.5 = no better than random chance) and precision-recall curves (AUPRC; equivalent to the average positive predictive value, which does not give credit for guessing "no readmission" when this is true most of the time, interpretable relative to the base rate of readmissions) on two holdout samples. All admissions (except the last 2 months' worth) were collected and split randomly 80%/20%. The training cohort was formed with the random 80% sample, which was downsampled (so it included all readmissions and a random, equal number of nonreadmissions). The random 20% sample served as the first test cohort ("random holdout"). The last 2 months of admissions (originally held aside) served as the second test cohort ("2-month holdout"). Finally, feature importances (the degree to which each variable contributed to the predictions) and partial dependency plots were investigated to answer the second and third research questions. RESULTS: For the random holdout sample, model performance values in terms of AUROC and AUPRC were 0.65 and 0.087, respectively, for THA and 0.66 and 0.077, respectively, for TKA. For the 2-month holdout sample, these numbers were 0.66 and 0.087 and 0.65 and 0.075. Thus, our nonlinear models incorporating a wide variety of preoperative features from Medicare claims data could not well-predict the individual likelihood of readmissions (that is, the models performed poorly and are not appropriate for clinical use). The most predictive features (in terms of mean absolute scores) and their partial dependency graphs still confer information about population-level associations with increased risk of readmission, namely with older patient age, low prior 365-day surgeon and hospital TJA procedure volumes, being a man, patient history of cardiac diagnoses and lack of oncologic diagnoses, and higher county-level rates of hospitalizations for ambulatory-care sensitive conditions. Further inspection of partial dependency plots revealed nonlinear population-level associations specifically for surgeon and hospital procedure volumes. The readmission risk for THA and TKA decreased as surgeons performed more procedures in the prior 365 days, up to approximately 75 TJAs (odds ratio [OR] = 1.2 for TKA and 1.3 for THA), but no further risk reduction was observed for higher annual surgeon procedure volumes. For THA, the readmission risk decreased as hospitals performed more procedures, up to approximately 600 TJAs (OR = 1.2), but no further risk reduction was observed for higher annual hospital procedure volumes. CONCLUSION: A large dataset of Medicare claims and machine learning were inadequate to provide a clinically useful individual prediction model for 30-day unplanned readmissions after TKA or THA, suggesting that other factors that are not routinely collected in claims databases are needed for predicting readmissions. Nonlinear population-level associations between low surgeon and hospital procedure volumes and increased readmission risk were identified, including specific volume thresholds above which the readmission risk no longer decreases, which may still be indirectly clinically useful in guiding policy as well as patient decision-making when selecting a hospital or surgeon for treatment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

White paper on antimicrobial stewardship in solid organ transplant recipients.

Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) have made immense strides in optimizing antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral use in clinical settings. However, although ASPs are required institutionally by regulatory agencies in the United States and Canada, they are not mandated for transplant centers or programs specifically. Despite the fact that solid organ transplant recipients in particular are at increased risk of infections from multidrug-resistant organisms, due to host and donor factors and immunosuppressive therapy, there currently are little rigorous data regarding stewardship practices in solid organ transplant populations, and thus, no transplant-specific requirements currently exist. Further complicating matters, transplant patients have a wide range of variability regarding their susceptibility to infection, as factors such as surgery of transplant, intensity of immunosuppression, and presence of drains or catheters in situ may modify the risk of infection. As such, it is not feasible to have a "one-size-fits-all" style of stewardship for this patient population. The objective of this white paper is to identify opportunities, risk factors, and ASP strategies that should be assessed with solid organ transplant recipients to optimize antimicrobial use, while producing an overall improvement in patient outcomes. We hope it may serve as a springboard for development of future guidance and identification of research opportunities.

Auditing tools for antimicrobial prescribing in solid organ transplant recipients: The why, the how, and an assessment of current options.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) aims to optimize antimicrobial use. Auditing and reporting of antimicrobial prescribing are essential. Auditing tools for solid organ transplant (SOT) patients should tailor to their needs. METHODS: We reviewed published data describing auditing tools in the general and SOT population. RESULTS: We focused on three internationally or nationally available auditing tools. The National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey (NAPS) is web-based tool to report antimicrobial consumption and assess appropriateness using standardized definitions based on consensus guidelines. In the absence of guidelines, adjudication is based on AMS principles. An automated dashboard, analyses by indication or antimicrobial, and benchmarking reports are available. The National Healthcare Safety Network Antimicrobial Use/Resistance module was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for hospitals to upload monthly data, which are standardized for benchmarking. It does not assess appropriateness or address SOT wards. The Global-Point Prevalence Survey from bioMérieux collects data on antimicrobial regimen, indication and microbial resistance. Variables unique to SOT include comorbidities and devices. Assessment of appropriateness is limited to guideline adherence, and benchmarking may require prearrangement with bioMérieux. Benchmarking requires prearrangement. Advances in electronic health record systems and clinical decision support tools can improve the efficiency of the auditing process. CONCLUSION: Each AMS auditing tool has unique features for SOT patients. Capturing immunosuppression, source control, organ dysfunction, donor-derived infection, serology, and colonization status will enhance their applicability.

Long-Term Effects of Phased Implementation of Antimicrobial Stewardship in Academic ICUs: 2007-2015.

OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial stewardship is advocated to reduce antimicrobial resistance in ICUs by reducing unnecessary antimicrobial consumption. Evidence has been limited to short, single-center studies. We evaluated whether antimicrobial stewardship in ICUs could reduce antimicrobial consumption and costs. DESIGN: We conducted a phased, multisite cohort study of a quality improvement initiative. SETTING: Antimicrobial stewardship was implemented in four academic ICUs in Toronto, Canada beginning in February 2009 and ending in July 2012. PATIENTS: All patients admitted to each ICU from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2015, were included. INTERVENTIONS: Antimicrobial stewardship was delivered using in-person coaching by pharmacists and physicians three to five times weekly, and supplemented with unit-based performance reports. Total monthly antimicrobial consumption (measured by defined daily doses/100 patient-days) and costs (Canadian dollars/100 patient-days) before and after antimicrobial stewardship implementation were measured. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 239,123 patient-days (57,195 patients) were analyzed, with 148,832 patient-days following introduction of antimicrobial stewardship. Antibacterial use decreased from 120.90 to 110.50 defined daily dose/100 patient-days following introduction of antimicrobial stewardship (adjusted intervention effect -12.12 defined daily dose/100 patient-days; 95% CI, -16.75 to -7.49; p < 0.001) and total antifungal use decreased from 30.53 to 27.37 defined daily doses/100 patient-days (adjusted intervention effect -3.16 defined daily dose/100 patient-days; 95% CI, -8.33 to 0.04; p = 0.05). Monthly antimicrobial costs decreased from $3195.56 to $1998.59 (adjusted intervention effect -$642.35; 95% CI, -$905.85 to -$378.84; p < 0.001) and total antifungal costs were unchanged from $1771.86 to $2027.54 (adjusted intervention effect -$355.27; 95% CI, -$837.88 to $127.33; p = 0.15). Mortality remained unchanged, with no consistent effects on antimicrobial resistance and candidemia. CONCLUSIONS: Antimicrobial stewardship in ICUs with coaching plus audit and feedback is associated with sustained improvements in antimicrobial consumption and cost. ICUs with high antimicrobial consumption or expenditure should consider implementing antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Antimicrobial stewardship by academic detailing improves antimicrobial prescribing in solid organ transplant patients.

We implemented twice-weekly academic detailing rounds in 2015 as an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) intervention in solid organ transplant (SOT) patients, led by an AMS pharmacist and a transplant infectious diseases physician. They reviewed SOT patients' antimicrobials and made recommendations to prescribers on antimicrobial regimens, diagnostics investigations, and appropriate referrals for transplant infectious diseases consultation. To determine the impact of the intervention, we adjudicated antimicrobials prescriptions using established AMS principles, and compared the proportion of AMS-concordance regimens pre-intervention (2013) with post-intervention (2016) via 4-point-prevalence surveys conducted in each period. All admitted SOT patients who were receiving antimicrobial treatment on survey days were included. Primary outcome was the percentage of antimicrobial regimen adjudicated as AMS concordant. Secondary outcomes were percentage of AMS concordance in patients consulted by transplant infectious diseases; categories of AMS discordance; antimicrobial consumption in defined daily dose/100 patient-days (DDD/100PD); antimicrobial cost in CAD$/PD; and C. difficile infections. Balancing measures were length of stay, 30-day readmission, and in-hospital mortality. We compared outcomes using χ2 test or t-test; significant difference was defined as p < 0.05. Pre-intervention surveys included 139 patients, post-intervention, 179 patients, with 62.3% vs. 56.6% receiving antimicrobials, respectively (p = 0.27). AMS concordance increased from 69% (60/87) to 83.7% (93/111), p = 0.01. Not tailoring antimicrobials was the most common discordance category. AMS concordance under transplant infectious diseases was 82.5% (33/40) pre-intervention vs. 76.6% (36/47) post-intervention, p = 0.5. Antimicrobial consumption increased by 15.3% (140.9 vs.162.4 DDD/100PD, p = 0.001). Antimicrobial cost, C. difficile infection rates and balancing measures remained stable. Academic detailing increased appropriate antimicrobial use in SOT patients without untoward effects.

Solid organ transplant patients: are there opportunities for antimicrobial stewardship?

OBJECTIVE: Rising incidence of Clostridium difficile and multidrug-resistant organisms' infections and a dwindling development of new antimicrobials are an impetus for antimicrobial stewardship in organ transplant recipients. We sought to understand antimicrobial prescribing practices and identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration among the transplant, antimicrobial stewardship, and infectious diseases teams. METHODS: In 2013, two assessors conducted four real-time audits on all antimicrobial therapy in transplant patients, assessing each regimen against stewardship principles established by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, supplemented by applicable transplant-specific infection guidelines. Chi-square test was used to compare stewardship-concordant and stewardship-discordant audit results relative to transplant infectious diseases consultation. RESULTS: Analysis was performed on 176 audits. Fifty-eight percent (103/176) received at least one antimicrobial, of which 69.9% (72/103) were stewardship-concordant. Infections were confirmed or suspected in 52.3% (92/176). Of those, 98.9% (91/92) received antimicrobials, and 41.8% (38/91) were prescribed by transplant clinicians. Infectious diseases consultation was associated with more stewardship-concordant prescriptions (78.5% vs. 59.6%, p = 0.03). The most common stewardship-discordant categories were lack of de-escalation, empiric antimicrobial spectrum being too broad, and therapy duration being too long. CONCLUSIONS: Opportunities exist for antimicrobial stewardship in transplant recipients, especially those who do not require infectious diseases consultation.

Bring it on again: antimicrobial stewardship in transplant infectious diseases: updates and new challenges.

Advancement in solid organ transplantation and hematopoietic stem cell transplant continues to improve the health outcomes of patients and widens the number of eligible patients who can benefit from the medical progress. Preserving the effectiveness of antimicrobials remains crucial, as otherwise transplant surgeries would be unsafe due to surgical site infections, and the risk of sepsis with neutropenia would preclude stem cell transplant. In this review, we provide updates on three previously discussed stewardship challenges: febrile neutropenia, Clostridioides difficile infection, and asymptomatic bacteriuria. We also offer insight into four new stewardship challenges: the applicability of the "shorter is better" paradigm shift to antimicrobial duration; antibiotic allergy delabeling and desensitization; colonization with multidrug-resistant gram-negative organisms; and management of cytomegalovirus infections. Specifically, data are accumulating for "shorter is better" and antibiotic allergy delabeling in transplant patients, following successes in the general population. Unique to transplant patients are the impact of multidrug-resistant organism colonization on clinical decision-making of antibiotic prophylaxis in transplant procedure and the need for antiviral stewardship in cytomegalovirus. We highlighted the expansion of antimicrobial stewardship interventions as potential solutions for these challenges, as well as gaps in knowledge and opportunities for further research.

Assessing the quality of antimicrobial prescribing in solid organ transplant recipients: a new frontier in antimicrobial stewardship.

Background: Post-transplant infections remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) and local standardized antimicrobial treatment guidelines may contribute to improved clinical outcomes. Our study assessed the rate of therapeutic compliance with local standard guidelines in the treatment of common infections in SOTR, and their associated outcomes. Methods: Consecutive adult SOTRs admitted to the transplant floor from January-September 2020 and were treated for an infectious syndrome were followed until discharge or for 30 days following the date of diagnosis, whichever was shorter. Data was extracted from electronic medical records. Guideline compliance was characterized as either appropriate, effective but unnecessary, undertreatment, or inappropriate. Results: Nine hundred and thirty-six SOTR were admitted to the transplant ward, of which 328 patients (35%) received treatment for infectious syndromes. Guidelines were applicable to 252 patients, constituting 275 syndromes: 86 pneumonias; 82 urinary tract infections; 40 intra-abdominal infections; 38 bloodstream infections; and 29 C. difficile infections. 200/246 (81%) of infectious syndromes received appropriate or effective but unnecessary empiric treatment. In addition, appropriate tailoring of antimicrobials resulted in a significant difference in 30-day all-cause mortality (adjusted OR of 0.07, 95% CI 0.01-0.38; P = .002). Lastly, we found that guideline-compliant empiric therapy was found to prevent the development of multi-drug resistance in a time-dependent analysis (adjusted HR of 0.21, 95% CI 0.08-0.52; P = .001). Conclusion: Our data show that adherence to locally developed guidelines was associated with reduced mortality and resistant-organism development in our cohort of SOTR.

Modeling Invasive Aspergillosis Risk for the Application of Prophylaxis Strategies.

The epidemiology of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is evolving. To define the patient groups who will most likely benefit from primary or secondary Aspergillus prophylaxis, particularly those whose medical conditions and IA risk change over time, it is helpful to depict patient populations and their risk periods in a temporal visual model. The Sankey approach provides a dynamic figure to understand the risk of IA for various patient populations. While the figure depicted within this article is static, an internet-based version could provide pop-up highlights of any given flow's origin and destination nodes. A future version could highlight links to publications that support the color-coded incidence rates or other actionable items, such as bundles of applicable pharmacologic or non-pharmacologic interventions. The figure, as part of the upcoming Infectious Diseases Society of America's aspergillosis clinical practice guidelines, can guide decision-making in clinical settings.

Towards the Total Synthesis of Marineosin A: Construction of the Macrocyclic Pyrrole and an Advanced, Functionalized Spiroaminal Model.

Herein, we describe the enantioselective construction of the 12-membered macrocyclic pyrrole core 4 of marineosin A in 5.1% overall yield from (S)-propylene oxide. The route features a key Stetter reaction to install a 1,4-diketone, which is then subjected to Paal-Knorr pyrrole synthesis and ring closing metathesis (RCM) to afford macrocycle 4. A divergence point in the synthetic scheme also enabled access to a highly functionalized spiroaminal model system 8 via an acid-mediated hydroxyketoamide cyclization strategy.

Going local: Evaluating guideline adherence and appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing in patients with febrile neutropenia at an academic teaching hospital.

Background: Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a medical emergency with significant morbidity and mortality for oncology patients, requiring comprehensive workup and timely antibiotic administration. We evaluated concordance with locally developed FN guidelines and outcomes of cancer patients admitted to general internal medicine at an academic teaching hospital. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study of patients admitted between July 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017, for FN. Patients were classified as having low-risk or high-risk FN according to their malignancy and chemotherapy. Primary outcome was the proportion of patients receiving guideline-concordant antibiotics within 48 hours of admission to general internal medicine. Secondary outcomes were the proportion of patients in whom empirical antibiotics were active against pathogens isolated, rate of antibiotic-associated adverse events, and in-hospital mortality. We used logistic regression to model relationship between FN risk and guideline-concordant antibiotics. Results: Among 100 patients included, 34 (34%) were low-risk FN and 66 (66%) were high-risk. Proportion of guideline-concordant empirical antibiotics was significantly lower among low-risk FN patients than high-risk patients: 12 (35%) of 34 versus 47 (71%) of 66 (P = .001). Empirical antibiotics were active against 17 (94%) of 18 isolated pathogens. The mortality rate was 3%, and 16% of patients experienced antibiotic-associated adverse events. Hematological malignancy and infectious diseases-trained physician involvement were associated with guideline-concordant prescribing, with adjusted odds ratios of 3.76 (95% CI, 1.46-9.70; P = .006) and 3.71 (95% CI, 1.49-9.23; P = .005), respectively. Conclusions: Guideline concordance was low compared to published reports. Factors influencing appropriate antimicrobial prescribing in patients with FN warrant further exploration.

A national survey of antimicrobial stewardship content in Canadian entry-to-practice pharmacy programs.

Objective: To describe the current landscape of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) instruction in Canadian entry-to-practice pharmacy programs and the perceived barriers and facilitators to optimizing teaching and learning. Design: Electronic survey. Participants: Faculty representatives from the 10 Canadian entry-to-practice pharmacy programs, including content experts and faculty leadership. Methods: A review of international literature pertaining to AMS in pharmacy curricula informed a 24-item survey, which was open for completion from March to May of 2021. Curriculum content questions were developed using AMS topics recommended by pharmacy educators in the United States, and professional roles described by the Association of Faculties of Pharmacy of Canada. Results: All 10 Canadian faculties returned a completed survey. All programs reported teaching AMS principles in their core curricula. Content coverage varied, with programs teaching, on average, 68% of the recommended AMS topics from the United States. Potential gaps were identified within the professional roles of "communicator" and "collaborator." Didactic methods of content delivery and student assessment, such as lectures and multiple-choice questions, were most frequently used. Three programs offered additional AMS content in their elective curricula. Experiential rotations in AMS were commonly offered, though teaching AMS in formalized interprofessional settings was rare. Curricular time constraints were identified by all programs as a barrier to enhancing AMS instruction. A course to teach AMS, a curriculum framework, and prioritization by the faculty's curriculum committee were perceived as facilitators. Conclusions: Our findings highlight potential gaps and areas of opportunity within Canadian pharmacy AMS instruction.

Vancomycin Therapeutic Drug Monitoring: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Canadian Hospitals.

Background: Little is known about the current landscape of vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) in Canadian hospitals, which operate within publicly funded health care systems. Objectives: To determine current TDM practices for vancomycin and associated challenges and to gather perceptions about TDM based on area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) in Canadian hospitals. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to hospital pharmacists in spring 2021 through multiple national and provincial antimicrobial stewardship, public health, and pharmacy organizations. The survey gathered data about hospital characteristics, TDM methods, inclusion criteria for patient selection, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic targets, vancomycin susceptibility testing and reporting, and perceived barriers and challenges. Results: In total, 120 pharmacists from 10 of the 13 provincial and territorial jurisdictions in Canada, representing 12.5% of Canadian acute care hospitals (n = 962), completed at least 90% of survey questions. The predominant TDM method was trough-based (107/119, 89.9%); another 10.1% of respondents (12/119) reported performing AUC-based TDM (with or without trough-based TDM), and 17.9% (19/106) of those not already using AUC-based TDM were considering implementing it within 1 to 2 years. Among hospitals performing trough-based TDM, 60.5% (66/109) targeted trough levels between 15 and 20 mg/L for serious infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. One-quarter of the respondents using this method (27/109, 24.8%) agreed that trough-based TDM was of uncertain benefit, and about one-third (33/109, 30.3%) were neutral on this question. Multiple challenges were identified for trough-based TDM, including sub- or supra-therapeutic concentrations and collection of specimens at inappropriate times. Overall, 40.5% (47/116) of respondents agreed that AUC-based TDM was likely safer than trough-based TDM, whereas 23.3% (27/116) agreed that AUC-based TDM was likely more effective. Conclusions: This survey represents a first step in developing evidence-based, standardized best practices for vancomycin TDM that are uniquely suited to the Canadian health care system.

Contexte: On connaît peu de choses sur le paysage actuel du suivi thérapeutique pharmacologique (STP) de la vancomycine dans les hôpitaux canadiens, dont les activités s'inscrivent dans le cadre des systèmes de soins de santé financés par les deniers publics. Objectifs: Déterminer les pratiques actuelles de STP de la vancomycine et les défis associés et recueillir les perceptions concernant le STP sur la base de l'aire sous la courbe de la concentration en fonction du temps (ASC) dans les hôpitaux canadiens. Méthodes: Un sondage a été distribué électroniquement aux pharmaciens d'hôpitaux au printemps 2021 par plusieurs organismes nationaux et provinciaux de gestion de l'utilisation des antimicrobiens, de santé publique et de pharmacie. Le sondage a permis de rassembler des données concernant les caractéristiques des hôpitaux, les méthodes de STP, les critères d'inclusion pour la sélection des patients, les objectifs pharmacocinétiques et pharmacodynamiques, les tests de sensibilité à la vancomycine et les rapports des résultats, ainsi que les obstacles et les défis perçus. Résultats: Au total, 120 pharmaciens de 10 des 13 provinces et territoires du Canada, représentant 12,5 % des hôpitaux canadiens de soins actifs (n = 962), ont répondu à au moins 90 % des questions du sondage. La méthode de STP prédominante utilisée était celle de la concentration minimale (107/119, 89,9 %); un autre 10,1 % des répondants (12/119) ont déclaré effectuer un STP basé sur l'ASC (avec ou sans STP basé sur la concentration minimale), et 17,9 % (19/106) de ceux qui n'effectuaient pas déjà le STP basé sur l'ASC envisageaient de le mettre en œuvre d'ici 1 à 2 ans. Parmi les hôpitaux pratiquant le STP basé sur la concentration minimale, 60,5 % (66/109) ciblaient des concentrations minimales entre 15 et 20 mg/L pour les infections graves à Staphylococcus aureus résistant à la méthicilline. Un quart des répondants qui utilisaient cette méthode (27/109, 24,8 %) convenaient que les avantages du STP basé sur la concentration minimale étaient incertains, et environ un tiers (33/109, 30,3 %) étaient neutres. De multiples défis ont été identifiés pour le STP basé sur la concentration minimale, notamment des concentrations sous-ou supra-thérapeutiques et la collecte d'échantillons à des moments inappropriés. Dans l'ensemble, 40,5 % (47/116) des répondants convenaient que le STP basé sur l'ASC était probablement plus sûr que le STP basé sur la concentration minimale, tandis que 23,3 % (27/116) convenaient que le STP basé sur l'ASC était probablement plus efficace. Conclusions: Ce sondage représente une première étape dans l'élaboration de pratiques exemplaires normalisées et fondées sur des données probantes pour le STP de la vancomycine qui sont particulièrement adaptées au système de santé canadien.