Moving in for Renovations: An Innovative Solution for Replacing End-of-Life Capital Equipment. The Michael Garron Hospital-Sunnybrook Collaborative Catheterization Laboratory Project.

Replacement of an end-of-life cardiac catheterization laboratory ("cath lab") can pose a significant challenge to a hospital, particularly in single-cath-lab institutions. The disruption in patient care requires innovative approaches to minimize the inconvenience and ensure ongoing quality of care. We describe a unique approach whereby Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) "leased" a cath lab within Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre for a 12-week period during a cath lab replacement project at MGH. The MGH cath lab and patient recovery bay remained a completely separate entity staffed by MGH nurses and physicians, with electronic connection to the home hospital. A total of 420 patients underwent cardiac catheterization with no adverse outcomes while maintaining system efficiency and high patient and staff satisfaction. Cath lab leasing involving two cooperating hospitals is an innovative and safe way to bridge a cath lab replacement.

Growing a "positive culture" of antimicrobial stewardship in a community hospital.

BACKGROUND: Promoting the appropriate use of antimicrobials is a core value of antimicrobial stewardship. Prospective audit and feedback constitute an effective strategy for reducing the cost and use of antimicrobials, as well as their adverse effects, such as infection with Clostridium difficile. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the antimicrobial stewardship program in the intensive care unit at the authors' hospital, in order to determine the cost and utilization of antimicrobials, as well as the rate of nosocomially acquired C. difficile infection. METHODS: An infectious diseases team, consisting of a physician and a pharmacist, performed prospective audit and feedback during a pilot study (April to June 2010). The team met with the intensive care unit team daily to discuss optimization of therapy. The cost and utilization of antimicrobial drugs, as well as rates of C. difficile infection, were compared between the pilot period and the same period during the previous year (April to June 2009). For 3 months after the pilot phase (i.e., July to September 2010), the strategy was continued 3 days per week. RESULTS: AFTER INTRODUCTION OF THE ANTIMICROBIAL STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE COST OF ANTIMICROBIAL DRUGS: $27 917 less than during the same period in the previous year, equivalent to a reduction of $15.45 (36.2%) per patient-day ($42.63 versus $27.18). Utilization of broad-spectrum antipseudomonal antimicrobial agents was also significantly lower, declining from 63.16 to 38.59 defined daily doses (DDDs) per 100 patient-days (reduction of 38.9%). After the pilot period, the rate declined further, to 28.47 DDDs/100 patient-days. During the pilot period, there were no cases of C. difficile infection, and in the post-pilot period, there was 1 case (overall rate 0.42 cases/1000 patient-days). This rate was lower than (but not significantly different from) the rate for April to September 2009 (1.87 cases/1000 patient-days). There were no differences in mortality rate or severity of illness. CONCLUSION: The antimicrobial stewardship program in this community hospital was associated with significant decreases in antimicrobial costs and in utilization of antipseudomonal antimicrobial agents and a nonsignificant decrease in the rate of C. difficile infection. Knowledge exchange, peer-to-peer communication, and decision support, key factors in this success, will be applied in implementing the antimicrobial stewardship program throughout the hospital.

Extended dalteparin prophylaxis for venous thromboembolic events: cost-utility analysis in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) are manifestations of venous thromboembolic events (VTEs). Patients undergoing major surgical procedures such as total hip replacement (THR), total knee replacement (TKR), and hip fracture surgery (HFS) are at an elevated risk for VTEs. The American College of Chest Physicians' (ACCP) guidelines recommend that such patients receive thromboprophylaxis for at least 10 days. In patients undergoing THR or HFS, extended prophylaxis for up to 28-35 days is the recommended approach for those at high risk of thromboembolic events. The NAFT (North American Fragmin Trial) compared the prophylactic efficacy of dalteparin with that of warfarin during the in-hospital period, and with that of placebo during the period of hospital discharge until day 35 postsurgery, in patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty. During both the in-hospital and the postdischarge time periods, dalteparin significantly reduced the occurrence of DVT. Given the clinical relevance of these results, the low specificity of the ACCP recommendations regarding optimal prophylaxis duration, and the importance of optimizing the efficiency of DVT prophylaxis in the practice setting, a cost-utility analysis was conducted comparing dalteparin 10-day and 35-day (extended) with a warfarin 10-day protocol, in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgeries such as THR, TKR, or HFS. DESIGN AND SETTING: A three-arm decision model was developed using the prevalence of symptomatic DVT from NAFT publications, epidemiologic studies, and published meta-analyses. Healthcare resource use was abstracted from a survey of clinicians and from the economic literature. Utility estimates were obtained by interviewing a sample of 24 people from the general public using the time trade-off technique. The clinical, economic and utility data were then used to estimate the cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained with dalteparin for 10 or 35 days relative to 10 days of warfarin. STUDY PERSPECTIVE: Canadian provincial healthcare system. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: The cost per QALY gained with 10 days of dalteparin was below $Can1000 for all the surgeries evaluated (all costs are reported in 2007 Canadian dollars [$Can1 = $US1, as of December 2007]). In the case of extended prophylaxis, the incremental cost per QALY gained with 35 days of dalteparin over warfarin was $Can40 100, $Can46 500, and $Can31 200 for patients undergoing THR, TKR, and HFS, respectively. Reducing the duration of prophylaxis from 35 to 28 days generated ratios that were below $Can35 000 for all three surgeries evaluated. CONCLUSION: Ten days of dalteparin following major orthopedic surgery is a clinically and economically attractive alternative to warfarin for DVT prophylaxis. In the case of the 35-day dalteparin protocol, the results also indicated acceptable economic value to a publicly funded healthcare system, particularly in the settings of HFS and THR. In addition, reducing the duration of prophylaxis to 28 days postsurgery would be associated with a more favorable return on public healthcare expenditures.

Outpatient gatifloxacin therapy and dysglycemia in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Gatifloxacin has been associated with both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. We examined dysglycemia-related health outcomes associated with various antibiotics in a population of approximately 1.4 million Ontario, Canada, residents 66 years of age or older. METHODS: We conducted two population-based, nested case-control studies. In the first, case patients were persons treated in the hospital for hypoglycemia after outpatient treatment with a macrolide, a second-generation cephalosporin, or a respiratory fluoroquinolone (gatifloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, or ciprofloxacin). In the second, case patients were persons who received hospital care for hyperglycemia. For each case patient, we identified up to five controls matched according to age, sex, the presence or absence of diabetes, and the timing of antibiotic therapy. RESULTS: Between April 2002 and March 2004, we identified 788 patients treated for hypoglycemia within 30 days after antibiotic therapy. As compared with macrolide antibiotics, gatifloxacin was associated with an increased risk of hypoglycemia (adjusted odds ratio, 4.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.9 to 6.3). Levofloxacin was also associated with a slightly increased risk (adjusted odds ratio, 1.5; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.2 to 2.0), but no such risk was seen with moxifloxacin, ciprofloxacin, or cephalosporins. We then identified 470 patients treated for hyperglycemia within 30 days after antibiotic therapy. As compared with macrolides, gatifloxacin was associated with a considerably increased risk of hyperglycemia (adjusted odds ratio, 16.7; 95 percent confidence interval, 10.4 to 26.8), but no risk was noted with the other antibiotics. Risks were similar in the two studies regardless of the presence or absence of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: As compared with the use of other broad-spectrum oral antibiotics, including other fluoroquinolones, the use of gatifloxacin among outpatients is associated with an increased risk of in-hospital treatment for both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia.

Pharmacoeconomic analysis of fondaparinux versus enoxaparin for the prevention of thromboembolic events in orthopedic surgery patients.

INTRODUCTION: Fondaparinux is a novel synthetic antithrombotic that has been evaluated for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE). In four large trials in patients who underwent major hip or knee surgery, fondaparinux was found to have a good safety profile and be more effective than enoxaparin. To generate Canadian pharmacoeconomic data for fondaparinux, an internationally developed cohort deterministic model was used to estimate the costs and consequences of prophylaxis with fondaparinux compared with enoxaparin in the Canadian orthopedic surgical setting. DESIGN AND SETTING: A health economic advisory group was assembled to guide the pharmacoeconomic evaluation. Efficacy and safety data for fondaparinux relative to enoxaparin were abstracted from a meta-analysis of four randomized trials. Canadian cost data to populate the model were obtained from a resource-use survey of four large Canadian hospitals, from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), and from the Canadian economic literature. Case-mix information obtained from CIHI was incorporated into the cohort deterministic model, which predicted the number of VTEs and bleeds following prophylaxis with fondaparinux or enoxaparin within 90 days of surgery, and the associated overall cost difference. The stability of the base-case findings was evaluated with sensitivity analyses. STUDY PERSPECTIVE: Canadian healthcare system perspective. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: Assuming a case mix of 50,693 major hip or knee surgeries performed in Canada in 1999/2000 (as reported by CIHI), the model predicted that prophylaxis with fondaparinux would avoid an additional 16 symptomatic VTEs per 1000 patients over the first 90 days, with an average cost savings of Can 55 dollars per patient. These findings were stable when key economic and clinical parameters were varied, including bleeding events. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that in Canada, prophylactic fondaparinux compared with enoxaparin avoids VTEs and is associated with lower costs in patients who undergo major hip or knee surgery.

Effect of growth phase and pH on the in vitro activity of a new glycopeptide, oritavancin (LY333328), against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium.

Oritavancin (LY333328) is a novel glycopeptide with activity against Gram-positive bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium. We compared the effects of pH and growth phase on the activity of oritavancin and vancomycin against methicillin-resistant S. aureus and vancomycin-susceptible and -resistant E. faecium. Killing curve methods were used to evaluate the effect of growth phase (stationary versus exponential) and pH (6.4, 7.4 and 8.0). An inoculum of 10(6) cfu/mL was used for all experiments. Growth phase of S. aureus and vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium did not influence the rate and killing activity of oritavancin. The rate of killing by oritavancin against the vancomycin-resistant E. faecium strain was significantly faster and the reduction in cfu/mL at 24 h was significantly greater when the organism was in exponential compared with stationary growth phase (P < 0.05). In exponential growth phase, time to 99.9% killing was achieved in 0.6 +/- 0.01 h for the vancomycin-resistant strain, whereas in stationary growth phase, oritavancin did not decrease the inoculum by 99.9% within 24 h. Oritavancin's activity against S. aureus and vancomycin-susceptible E. faecium was not influenced by the pH conditions tested. Oritivancin's killing activity against the vancomycin-resistant E. faecium strain was significantly enhanced when tested at pH 7.4 and 8.0 (P < 0.05). Our study has demonstrated that oritavancin's activity does not seem to be influenced by the growth phase of the organisms or the pH of the environment when tested against sensitive strains of S. aureus and E. faecium. However, oritavancin's activity might be reduced against vancomycin-resistant E. faecium strains in stationary growth phase, as seen in infective endocarditis or when organisms are exposed to an acidic environment.