Application of Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio as a Motivational Tool within a Multi-Hospital Healthcare System.

The standardized antimicrobial administration ratio (SAAR) is a novel antimicrobial stewardship metric that compares actual to expected antimicrobial use (AU). This prospective cohort study examines the utility of SAAR reporting and inter-facility comparisons as a motivational tool to improve overall and broad-spectrum AU within a three-hospital healthcare system. Transparent inter-facility comparisons were deployed during system-wide antimicrobial stewardship meetings beginning in October 2017. Stakeholders were advised to interpret the results to foster competition and incorporate SAAR data into focused antimicrobial stewardship interventions. Student's t-test was used to compare mean SAARs in the pre- (July 2017 through October 2017) and post-intervention periods (November 2017 through June 2019). The mean pre-intervention SAARs for hospitals A, B, and C were 0.69, 1.09, and 0.60, respectively. Hospital B experienced significant reductions in SAAR for overall AU (from 1.09 to 0.83; p < 0.001), broad-spectrum antimicrobials used for hospital-onset infections (from 1.36 to 0.81; p < 0.001), and agents used for resistant gram-positive infections in the intensive care units (from 1.27 to 0.72; p < 0.001) after the interventions. The alignment of the SAAR across the health-system and sustained reduction in overall and broad-spectrum AU through implementation of inter-facility comparisons demonstrate the utility in the motivational application of this antimicrobial use metric.

Clostridioides difficile infection and antibiotic prescription rates in the community: Explaining the gender gap.

In this cross-sectional population-based study, women had significantly higher crude incidence rates of both community-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (CA-CDI) and ambulatory antibiotic prescriptions compared to men in South Carolina in 2015. After adjustments for antibiotic prescription rates, there was no difference in the incidence rates of CA-CDI between the genders.

Evaluating appropriateness and diagnostic stewardship opportunities of multiplex polymerase chain reaction gastrointestinal testing within a hospital system.

OBJECTIVE: This single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study evaluates the appropriateness of the BioFire® FilmArray® Gastrointestinal (GI) multiplex PCR panel testing at a community-teaching hospital. METHODS: All adult, hospitalized patients at Prisma Health Richland Hospital with a documented GI multiplex PCR panel from 1 April 2015 through 28 February 2018 were included in the analysis. Inappropriate use of the GI panel was defined as a test obtained without documented diarrhea, greater than 2 days of hospitalization, redundant use with other diagnostic tests (e.g. Clostridioides difficile PCR), or laxative use in the preceding 48 h. Antibiotic use and host variables were compared between groups with positive and negative results. RESULTS: During the study period, 442 GI panels were obtained, among which 268 (61%) were deemed inappropriate. Primary reasons for inappropriate testing were lack of documented diarrhea (n = 92), greater than 2 days of hospitalization (n = 116), having a duplicate C. difficile PCR test ordered (n = 118), or laxative use in the 48 h before testing (n = 36). A total of 141 (32%) GI panels were positive. The most frequently identified pathogens were C. difficile (51.1%, n = 72), Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (17.7%, n = 25), and Norovirus GI/GII (12.1%, n = 17). Patients with negative GI panel results were initiated on antibiotics significantly less frequently than those with positive GI panels (62.5% versus 80.2%, p < 0.00001). CONCLUSION: Stewardship opportunities exist to optimize the diagnostic application of the GI multiplex PCR panel.

Burden of community-associated Clostridioides difficile infection in southeastern United States: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional population-based study aims to determine overall incidence rate of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in the State of South Carolina and provide an estimated cost of hospitalization due to community-associated CDI (CA-CDI). METHODS: All CDI cases in South Carolina were identified through National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and the South Carolina Infectious Disease and Outbreak Network (SCION) from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, excluding infants < 1 year of age. RESULTS: During the 18-month study period, 10,254 CDI events were identified in South Carolina residents with an overall incidence rate of 139/100,000 person-years. Over one-half of CDI cases were CA-CDI (5192; 51%) with an incidence rate of 71/100,000 person-years. Among patients with CA-CDI, 2127 (41%) required hospitalization with a median length of stay of 5 days. The annual burden of CA-CDI in South Carolina was estimated to be 9282 hospital days and $16,217,295 in hospitalization costs. CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of CA-CDI in South Carolina has surpassed both community-onset healthcare facility associated and hospital-onset CDI combined. The heavy burden of CA-CDI justifies dedication of public health resources to combat CDI in ambulatory settings, through antimicrobial stewardship initiatives.

Syndrome-specific versus prospective audit and feedback interventions for reducing use of broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial use (AU) of antipseudomonal ß-lactams (APBL) has significantly increased over the past decade in US hospitals. This retrospective cohort study compares 2 common antimicrobial stewardship strategies, syndrome-specific interventions and antimicrobial postprescription prospective audit and feedback (PAF), in reducing AU of APBL at a large community-teaching hospital. METHODS: Four antimicrobial stewardship interventions targeting APBL were serially introduced, including 2 syndrome-specific interventions (bloodstream and intra-abdominal infections) and 2 PAF interventions (carbapenems and piperacillin/tazobactam). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine overall AU of APBL and audited antimicrobial agents. RESULTS: Overall AU of APBL declined from 92.4-69.1 days of therapy (DOT) per 1,000 patient-days between February 2013 and July 2017 (P < .001). Both syndrome-specific interventions were associated with significant reduction in AU of APBL (-7.7 [95% confidence interval (CI): -11.5, -4.0] and -6.0 [95% CI: -9.7, -2.3] DOT per 1,000 patient-days) for bloodstream and intra-abdominal infections, respectively). No significant change in overall AU of APBL was observed after implementation of PAF interventions for carbapenems (-1.4 [95% CI: -7.4, 4.6] DOT per 1,000 patient-days) or piperacillin/tazobactam (0.9 [95% CI: -3.7, 5.4] DOT per 1,000 patient-days). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of syndrome-specific interventions was followed by significant reduction in AU of APBL in this population. Despite reducing AU of targeted agents, neither PAF intervention contributed to overall observed decline in APBL use, likely due to compensatory increase in using other APBL.

Role of Early De-escalation of Antimicrobial Therapy on Risk of Clostridioides difficile Infection Following Enterobacteriaceae Bloodstream Infections.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data on the effect of early de-escalation of antimicrobial therapy on rates of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). This retrospective cohort study evaluated impact of de-escalation from antipseudomonal ß-lactam (APBL) therapy within 48 hours of Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections (BSIs) on 90-day risk of CDI. METHODS: Adult patients hospitalized for >48 hours for treatment of Enterobacteriaceae BSI at Palmetto Health hospitals in Columbia, South Carolina, from 1 January 2011 through 30 June 2015 were identified. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was used to examine time to CDI in patients who received >48 hours or ≤48 hours of APBL for empirical therapy of Enterobacteriaceae BSI after adjustment for the propensity to receive >48 hours of APBL. RESULTS: Among 808 patients with Enterobacteriaceae BSI, 414 and 394 received >48 and ≤48 hours of APBL, respectively. Incidence of CDI was higher in patients who received >48 hours than those who received ≤48 hours of APBL (7.0% vs 1.8%; log-rank P = .002). After adjustment for propensity to receive >48 hours of APBL and other variables in the multivariable model, receipt of >48 hours of APBL (hazard ratio [HR], 3.56 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.48-9.92]; P = .004) and end-stage renal disease (HR, 4.27 [95% CI, 1.89-9.11]; P = .001) were independently associated with higher risk of CDI. CONCLUSIONS: The empirical use of APBL for >48 hours was an independent risk factor for CDI. Early de-escalation of APBL using clinical risk assessment tools or rapid diagnostic testing may reduce the incidence of CDI in hospitalized adults with Enterobacteriaceae BSIs.

Higher risk of failure of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus prosthetic joint infections.

We determined the effect of methicillin resistance on the outcome of patients with Staphylococcus aureus prosthetic joint infections. From January 1995 to December 2004, 33% of 137 episodes of prosthetic joint infections were the result of S. aureus (in monomicrobial or polymicrobial cultures). Thirty-three (24%) episodes among 31 patients were the result of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and 12 (9%) episodes among 12 patients were the result of methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Overall treatment failure rate was 38%. Patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus or methicillin-resistant S. aureus prosthetic joint infections did not differ in age, gender, comorbidities, joint age, prior surgical procedures performed on the affected joint, number of postsurgical medical complications, or duration of intravenous antimicrobial therapy. Patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus prosthetic joint infection had longer hospital durations (median, 15 versus 10 days). Methicillin-resistant S. aureus in periprosthetic tissue culture resulted in a higher risk of treatment failure (hazard ratio, 9.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.40-35.46) than methicillin-susceptible S. aureus when controlling for joint location (total knee arthroplasty versus total hip arthroplasty [hazard ratio, 5.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.52-22.19]) and removal of hardware (hazard ratio, 0.24; 95% confidence interval, 0.077-0.75). Efforts should be made to prevent methicillin-resistant S. aureus infections of joint arthroplasties and develop new treatment modalities.