Promoting ß-lactam utilization through suppression of electronic medical record cross-allergy alerts.

PURPOSE: Current literature surrounding management of patients with reported ß-lactam allergies focuses on allergy delabeling. Standard clinical decision support tools have not been optimized to be compatible with the currently accepted cross-reaction rate of 1% to 2%. This potentially promotes use of non-ß-lactam antibiotics, which are often not first-line therapy and may carry increased risks. The impact of electronic medical record (EMR) clinical decision support tool optimization on utilization of ß-lactam antibiotics in ß-lactam-allergic patients was evaluated. METHODS: A retrospective pre-post ß-lactam cross-allergy EMR alert suppression quality improvement intervention cohort study of ß-lactam-allergic adult inpatients prescribed antibiotics was conducted. Preintervention baseline data were collected for an initial cohort admitted during September 2018. The intervention, in which clinical decision support rules were updated to display ß-lactam cross-sensitivity allergy alerts only for ß-lactam-allergic patients with documentation of organization-defined high-severity reactions of anaphylaxis, hives, and shortness of breath, was implemented August 20, 2019. The postintervention cohort included patients admitted during September 2019. RESULTS: A 91% increase in the percentage of ß-lactam-allergic patients who received a ß-lactam agent at any time during their admission was noted after the intervention (26.6% vs 51%, P < 0.001). Statistically significant decreases in prescribing of alternative antibiotic classes were seen for fluoroquinolones (decrease from 45.3% to 26%, P < 0.001), aminoglycosides (decrease from 9.4% to 2.9%, P = 0.002), and aztreonam (decrease from 30% to 16.7%, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: EMR ß-lactam cross-allergy alert optimization consistent with current literature significantly improved the utilization of alternative ß-lactam subclasses, mostly through ß-lactam prescribing as initial therapy in ß-lactam-allergic patients.

Tocilizumab as a Therapeutic Agent for Critically Ill Patients Infected with SARS-CoV-2.

Tocilizumab is an IL-6 receptor antagonist with the ability to suppress the cytokine storm in critically ill patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We evaluated patients treated with tocilizumab for a SARS-CoV-2 infection who were admitted between March 13, 2020, and April 16, 2020. This was a multicenter study with data collected by chart review both retrospectively and concurrently. Parameters evaluated included age, sex, race, use of mechanical ventilation (MV), usage of steroids and vasopressors, inflammatory markers, and comorbidities. Early dosing was defined as a tocilizumab dose administered prior to or within 1 day of intubation. Late dosing was defined as a dose administered > 1 day after intubation. In the absence of MV, the timing of the dose was related to the patient's date of admission only. We evaluated 145 patients. The average age was 58.1 years, 64% were men, 68.3% had comorbidities, and 60% received steroid therapy. Disposition of patients was 48.3% discharged and 29.3% died, of which 43.9% were African American. MV was required in 55.9%, of which 34.5% died. Avoidance of MV (P = 0.002) and increased survival (P < 0.001) was statistically associated with early dosing. Tocilizumab therapy was effective at decreasing mortality and should be instituted early in the management of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019) COVID-19).