Introducing antimicrobial stewardship to the outpatient clinics of a suburban academic health system.

Objective: To establish an antimicrobial stewardship program in the outpatient setting. Design: Prescribers of antimicrobials were asked to complete a survey regarding antimicrobial stewardship. We also monitored their compliance with appropriate prescribing practices, which were shared in monthly quality improvement reports. Setting: The study was performed at Loyola University Health System, an academic teaching healthcare system in a metropolitan suburban environment. Participants: Prescribers of antimicrobials across 19 primary care and 3 immediate- and urgent-care clinics. Methods: The voluntary survey was developed using SurveyMonkeyand was distributed via e-mail. Data were collected anonymously. Rates of compliance with appropriate prescribing practices were abstracted from electronic health records and assessed by 3 metrics: (1) avoidance of antibiotics in adult acute bronchitis and appropriate antibiotic treatment in (2) patients tested for pharyngitis and (3) children with upper respiratory tract infections. Results: Prescribers were highly knowledgeable about what constitutes appropriate prescribing; verified compliance rates were highly concordant with self-reported rates. Nearly all prescribers were concerned about resistance, but fewer than half believed antibiotics were overprescribed in their office. Among respondents, 74% reported intense pressure from patients to prescribe antimicrobials inappropriately. Immediate- and urgent-care prescribers had higher rates of compliance than primary-care prescribers, and the latter group responded well to monthly reports and online educational resources. Conclusions: Intense pressure from patients to prescribe antimicrobials when they are not indicated leads to overprescribing, an effect compounded by the importance of patient satisfaction scores. Compliance reporting improved the number of appropriate antibiotics prescribed in the primary care setting.

Implementation of an Extended-Infusion Piperacillin-Tazobactam Dosing Protocol: Unexpected Findings when Monitoring Safety and Compliance with Smart Pump Technology.

Compliance with recommended infusion rates was evaluated before, during, and after the implementation of extended-infusion (EI) piperacillin-tazobactam at an academic medical center. Software-controlled infusion-pump alert data were studied for piperacillin-tazobactam administrations before and after implementation of a four-hour EI protocol. Compliance was analyzed 16 weeks before (pre-EI), two weeks after (peri-EI), and an additional 16 weeks after (post-EI) protocol implementation. We defined potential harm as a programmed infusion rate exceeding the recommended rate, possible harm as a programmed infusion aborted by the user, and compliance as reversion to recommended rates. Potential and possible harm were standardized to 1000 patient days. Overall, 3110 alerts were identified during the period. Potential harm per 1000 patient days for pre-, peri-, and post-EI were 0, 6.12, and 1.05 (p < 0.001). Possible harm per 1000 patient days for the pre-, peri-, and post-EI were 0.33, 21.9, and 5.02 (p < 0.001). Compliance after an initial potential harm alert occurred more often post-EI (0.4 per 1000 patient days vs. 0 per 1000 patient days for pre- and peri-EI; p < 0.001), while alerts remaining in non-compliance were more prevalent if they initially occurred during the peri- and post-EI vs. pre-EI (6.1 and 0.6 per 1000 patient days vs. 0 per 1000 patient days; p < 0.001) period. Piperacillin-tazobactam infusions were administered faster than recommended during implementation (i.e., peri-EI) despite standardized orders.

Maintaining the Flow: Medical Challenges to Breastfeeding and "Risky" Bodies in Mexico.

In this article, I discuss a case study from southeast Mexico that highlights conflicting ideas regarding what constitutes risk and illness in the context of breastfeeding and postpartum practices. On the one hand, doctors' indeterminate and conflicting diagnoses about mother's milk as a source of pollution is revealed as an act of moral pathology that frames young mothers as high risk. On the other hand, milk pollution is understood by women as an unwelcome yet temporary interruption that can be remedied through non-allopathic intervention. As such, women can exert collective agency to overcome medicalized barriers to early breastfeeding and maintain established nurturing practices.

Carbapenems vs. alternative ß-lactams for the treatment of nosocomial pneumonia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Carbapenems have shown efficacy in treating nosocomial pneumonias in clinical trials despite a reported low lung penetration compared with other ß-lactams. Preserving the clinical activity of carbapenems through stewardship efforts is essential. The aim of this review was to identify any differences in outcomes potentially as a function of decreased penetration. METHODS: PubMed and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for clinical trials comparing carbapenems with other anti-pseudomonal ß-lactams for treatment of nosocomial pneumonia through to end December 2016. Trials reporting clinical and microbiological outcomes associated with treatment were included. Pediatric studies and those with uneven comparators (e.g., carbapenem vs. combination Gram-negative therapy) were excluded. Fixed effects models were used to evaluate the impact of treatment on the odds of clinical failure, death, or microbiological failure. RESULTS: 252 unique articles were identified; five met inclusion criteria and comprised 640 patients in the carbapenem group and 634 patients in the ß-lactam group. No differences in clinical failure (odds ratio [OR] 1.08, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.81-1.44], I2=16%) or mortality (OR 0.75, CI 0.57-1.11, I2=0%) were noted between groups. Patients infected with P. aeruginosa and treated with imipenem were more likely to experience clinical failure (OR 4.21, CI 1.51-11.12, I2=44%) and to develop resistance to the study carbapenem (OR 2.86, CI 1.08-6.44, I2= 13%) than those treated with alternative ß-lactams. CONCLUSIONS: No differences in clinical outcomes were observed between carbapenems and non-carbapenem ß-lactams in nosocomial pneumonias. Those infected with P. aeruginosa fared worse and were more likely to have resistance develop if they were treated with imipenem. Additional studies are warranted.

Impact of body mass index on clinical outcomes in patients with gram-negative bacteria bloodstream infections.

INTRODUCTION: Excess body mass index (BMI) is associated with a higher risk of death in many disease states, yet less is known about the impact of higher BMIs on clinical outcomes of serious bacterial infections. We sought to quantify the risk of all-cause mortality and/or organ failure following Gram negative bacteria bloodstream infections (GNBSI) according to BMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients with confirmed GNBSI who received ≥48 h of active antimicrobial therapy. Composite and component patient outcomes, including hospital mortality and organ failure, were assessed as a function of BMI. Organ failure was defined using modified consensus Surviving Sepsis Campaign definitions. Multi-variate methods were used to control for baseline confounders. RESULTS: Seventy-six patients met our inclusion criteria, of whom 8 died (10.5%). The majority of GNBSI were Escherichia (41.6%) or Klebsiella species (23.3%). Patients with higher BMI more frequently developed cardiovascular failure (P = 0.032), respiratory failure (P < 0.001), renal failure (P = 0.003), and died (P = 0.009). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that higher BMIs were associated with a greater risk of death and/or organ failure (aOR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.14), respiratory failure (aOR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.17), and renal failure (aOR 1.08, 95% CI 1.01-1.14) after adjusting for relevant covariates. CONCLUSION: Higher BMIs in patients with GNBSIs were associated with a greater risk of a composite of all-cause mortality and organ failure.

From Surviving to Advising: A Novel Course Pairing Mental Health and Addictions Service Users as Advisors to Senior Psychiatry Residents.

OBJECTIVE: The authors describe a novel course that pairs service users as advisors to senior psychiatry residents with the goals of improving the residents' understanding of recovery, reducing negative stereotypes about people in recovery, and empowering the service users who participated. METHODS: Service users who had experience working as peer support workers and/or system advocates were selected for a broad and deep understanding of recovery and an ability to engage learners in constructive dialogue. They met monthly with resident advisees over a period of 6 months. They were supported with monthly group supervision meetings and were paid an honorarium. Quantitative evaluations and qualitative feedback from the first two cohorts of the course, comprising 34 pairs, are reported here. RESULTS: The first cohort of residents responded with a wide range of global ratings and reactions. In response to their suggestions, changes were made to the structure of the course to create opportunities for small group learning and reflective writing and to protect time for residents to participate. The second cohort of residents and both cohorts of service users gave acceptably high global ratings. Residents in the second cohort described gaining a number of benefits from the course, including an enhanced understanding of the lived experience of recovery and a greater sense of shared humanity with service users. Advisors described an appreciation for being part of something that has the potential for changing the practice of psychiatry and enhancing the lives of their peers. CONCLUSIONS: Positioning service users as advisors to psychiatry residents holds promise as a powerful way of reducing distance between future psychiatrists and service users and facilitating system reform toward person-centered recovery-oriented care.

Defining competencies for the practice of telepsychiatry through an assessment of resident learning needs.

BACKGROUND: A foundational assessment of learning needs is missing from previous reports of telepsychiatry curricula. We used an in-depth needs assessment to identify specific skills required for the practice of effective telepsychiatry, and provide an evidence base to guide the development of telepsychiatry curricula in postgraduate psychiatry training. Many of these skills set telepsychiatry apart from practice in traditional face-to-face clinical settings, or result from adaptations to clinical practice to meet the needs of a telepsychiatry interface in patient care. METHODS: We used a qualitative, modified grounded theory approach to gain insight into areas of importance for telepsychiatry training in postgraduate psychiatry residency. 16 interviews of faculty and residents (9 and 7 interviews, respectively), allowed participants to reflect on their experiences in telepsychiatry. Data were then thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Interview respondents identified important aspects of the context for telepsychiatry training; the skills required to competently practice telepsychiatry; and the desired teaching and learning methods for acquiring these skills. Specific domains of competency were identified: technical skills; assessment skills; relational skills and communication; collaborative and interprofessional skills; administrative skills; medico-legal skills; community psychiatry and community-specific knowledge; cultural psychiatry skills, including knowledge of Indigenous cultures; and, knowledge of health systems. The skills identified in this study map well to competency- based medical education frameworks. CONCLUSIONS: Telepsychiatry is increasingly being adopted as a solution to health systems problems such as regional disparities in access to care, and it requires explicit competency development. Ensuring adequate and quality exposure to telepsychiatry during residency training could positively impact our health systems and health equity.

Developing a mentorship program for psychiatry residents.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to evaluate a formal mentorship program for second-year psychiatry residents at the University of Toronto after the program's first year of implementation. METHODS: Ten mentees and ten faculty mentors were interviewed by fellow second-year residents and an independent researcher, respectively, about their experiences in the program. Interview data were thematically coded and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. RESULTS: Three major themes were identified. First, participants emphasized the importance of a natural, flexible, and engaging matching process for mentors and mentees. Many experienced the random assignment approach to matching and the mandatory nature of the program as barriers to developing a meaningful relationship with their mentors. Second, participants expressed a preference for geographic proximity between mentor and mentee workplaces and for meetings to take place in informal settings in order to improve the quality and quantity of their interactions. Lastly, participants felt that clear directions and expectations about the program's goals should be communicated, and that a forum for information sharing among mentors was needed. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the majority of participants believed that the program facilitated growth and development and provided positive opportunities for both mentors and mentees. While challenges were present in the program, participants provided tangible recommendations to improve the process.