A Statewide Antibiotic Stewardship Collaborative to Improve the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Tract and Skin and Soft Tissue Infections.

Background: Colorado hospitals participated in a statewide collaborative to improve the management of inpatient urinary tract infections (UTIs) and skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). We evaluated the effects of the intervention on diagnostic accuracy and antibiotic use. Methods: The main collaborative outcomes were proportion of UTI diagnoses that met criteria for symptomatic UTI; exposure to fluoroquinolones (UTI only); duration of therapy (UTIs and SSTIs); and exposure to antibiotics with broad gram-negative activity (SSTIs only). Outcomes were compared between pre-intervention and intervention periods overall and by hospital. Secondary analyses were changes in outcome trends by time series analysis. Results: Twenty-six hospitals, including 9 critical access hospitals, participated in the collaborative. Data were reported for 4060 UTIs and 1759 SSTIs. Between the pre-intervention and intervention periods, the proportion of diagnosed UTIs that met criteria for symptomatic UTI was similar (51% vs 54%, respectively; P = .10), exposure to fluoroquinolones declined (49% vs 41%; P < .001), and the median duration of therapy was unchanged (7 vs 7 days; P = .99). Among SSTIs, exposure to antibiotics with broad gram-negative activity declined (61% vs 53%; P = .001) and the median duration of therapy declined (11 vs 10 days; P = .03). There was substantial variation in performance among hospitals. By time series analysis, only the declining trend of fluoroquinolone use was significant (P = .03). Conclusions: The collaborative model is a feasible approach to engage hospitals in a common antibiotic stewardship intervention. Performance improvement was observed for several outcomes but varied substantially by hospital.

Human papillomavirus infection and cytologic abnormalities of the anus and cervix among HIV-infected women in the study to understand the natural history of HIV/AIDS in the era of effective therapy (the SUN study).

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the cervix and related abnormal cervical cytology in HIV-infected women has been well described. Little is known about anal HPV infection in HIV-infected women. METHODS: The SUN Study is a prospective cohort study of 700 HIV-infected patients including 167 women. At baseline, patients completed a behavioral questionnaire and provided, among other samples, cervical and anal swabs for HPV detection and genotyping and for cytologic examination. Here, we present the available baseline data on the 167 women in the SUN study. RESULTS: Baseline results were available for 120 women (median age: 38 years, 57% non-Hispanic black, median CD4 cell count 444.5 cells/mm3), of whom, 77% were taking antiretroviral therapy. The prevalences in the anus and cervix of any HPV were 90% and 83%, respectively (P = 0.039), and of high-risk (HR) types 85% and 70%, respectively, (P = 0.001). There was no significant difference in the prevalences of abnormal cytology between the anus and cervix: 38% and 33%, respectively (P = 0.217). Although the presence of abnormal cervical cytology was associated with the presence of abnormal anal cytology (relative risk: 1.7, P = 0.024), its sensitivity (52.5%) and positive predictive value positive (45.6%) for identifying women with abnormal anal cytology were poor. A history of anal sex was not associated with anal HPV infection or abnormal anal cytology. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of HIV-infected women, anal HPV infection was more prevalent and diverse than cervical HPV infection. Anal cytologic abnormalities were as prevalent as cervical cytologic abnormalities, and although abnormal cervical cytology was predictive of abnormal anal cytology, results were not highly concordant. These data support the need for studies of anal cytologic screening of HIV-infected women.