Scoring big: Aligning inpatient clinical pharmacy services through implementation of an electronic scoring system.

PURPOSE: Data are limited on utilizing a comprehensive scoring system in the electronic health record to help prioritize, align, and standardize clinical pharmacy services across multiple hospitals and practice models within a health system. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and implementation of an electronic scoring system to help inpatient pharmacists prioritize patient care activities and standardize clinical services across a diverse health system. SUMMARY: Inpatient pharmacists from all specialty areas across the health system partnered with health information technology pharmacists to develop a scoring system directly integrated into the electronic health record that would help triage patient care, identify opportunities for pharmacist intervention, and prioritize clinical pharmacy services. Individual variables were built based on documented patient parameters such as use of high-risk medications, pharmacy consults, laboratory values, disease states, and patient acuity. Total overall scores were assigned to patients based on the sum of the scores for the individual variables, which update automatically in real time. The total scores were designed to help inpatient pharmacists prioritize patients with higher scores, thus reducing the need for manual chart review to identify high-risk patients. CONCLUSION: An electronic scoring system with a tiered point system developed for inpatient pharmacists creates a method to prioritize and align clinical pharmacy services across a health system with diverse pharmacy practice models.

Evaluation of pharmacist time dedicated to vancomycin dosing in adult patients using a 24-hour AUC nomogram or trough monitoring approach: A time motion study.

PURPOSE: Evidence-based guideline recommendations for vancomycin dosing recently shifted from a trough-based strategy to an area under the curve (AUC) approach. While several AUC dosing methods exist, the optimal approach has not been determined. Literature characterizing time requirements for various vancomycin dosing strategies remains limited. METHODS: A time and motion study was conducted to measure the time spent by clinical pharmacists dosing vancomycin using an AUC nomogram. Pharmacists who dosed and monitored vancomycin for adult patients on the general medical ward (GMW) or intensive care unit (ICU) of a large academic medical center consented to study participation. Vulnerable patients and vancomycin orders for surgical infection prophylaxis were excluded. The primary outcome was the median amount of time clinical pharmacists dedicated to vancomycin-related clinical activities during an 8-hour weekday shift. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients prescribed vancomycin at the beginning of each shift and factors contributing to greater than average time spent on vancomycin-related responsibilities. RESULTS: Seven clinical pharmacists collected data on 178 vancomycin orders. The estimated amount of time a clinical pharmacist spent on daily vancomycin responsibilities averaged 10.45 minutes (interquartile range [IQR], 6.94-15.8 minutes). The overall median time requirement per vancomycin assessment was 3.45 minutes (IQR, 1.95-6.7 minutes). The only factor independently associated with prolonged dosing time was follow-up dosing from a previous day. CONCLUSION: The study elucidated time requirements associated with an AUC nomogram-based vancomycin dosing approach. This data could be used to compare time requirements associated with other existing vancomycin dosing strategies, which may help healthcare systems determine the optimal AUC dosing method for their specific practice model.

Safety and Efficacy of a Percutaneously Inserted Ventricular Support Device Purge Solution Heparin 25 U/mL.

BACKGROUND: The Impella is a percutaneous ventricular assist device (pVAD) that provides temporary hemodynamic support to patients with cardiogenic shock or for protected percutaneous coronary intervention. The manufacturer recommends a 50-U/mL concentration of heparin purge solution (or 25 U/mL as an alternative), with systemic heparin to maintain therapeutic anticoagulation during device support. Concomitant use of systemic heparin with the purge solution may increase the risk of bleeding. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of thrombosis and bleeding using a less-concentrated heparin purge solution (25 U/mL) in combination with systemic heparin therapy. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational cohort study of patients who required at least 12 hours of pVAD support and received 25-U/mL concentration of heparin purge solution between January 1, 2014, and May 31, 2017. The primary end points were the rate of thrombotic and bleeding events. Secondary end points included the percentage of time within the therapeutic activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) range. Descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. RESULTS: Of the 161 patients screened, 100 met inclusion criteria; 63% of patients experienced a bleeding event, with Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) type 3a being the most common. Median percentages of subtherapeutic and supratherapeutic aPTT values were similar between the bleeding and nonbleeding groups. Two patients experienced thrombotic events. CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Based on our findings, the device thrombosis rate was 2% and the rate of major bleeding (BARC 3a and higher) was 35%. This study provides descriptive outcomes data of a lower-concentration heparin purge solution.

Comparison of Neutropenia Associated with Ceftaroline or Ceftriaxone in Patients Receiving at Least 7 Days of Therapy for Severe Infections.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Ceftarolinefosamil is a cephalosporin with broad clinical utility; however, limited data suggest that prolonged ceftaroline exposure may be associated with neutropenia. The objective was to determine drug and patient factors associated with neutropenia in patients receiving ceftaroline or ceftriaxone for deep-seated infections. DESIGN: Retrospective, ratio-matched cohort study. SETTING: Four acute-care hospitals within an urban health care system. PATIENTS: A total of 176 hospitalized adults who received definitive ceftaroline (44 patients) or ceftriaxone (132 patients) therapy for at least 7 days between January 2013 and April 2017 for any of the following indications: bone and joint infections (BJI), infective endocarditis (IE), or bloodstream infections (BSI). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome was development of neutropenia while receiving cephalosporin therapy, defined as an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) <1500 cells/mm3 . Neutropenia severity and patient characteristics were described and compared between the ceftaroline and ceftriaxone groups. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) antibiotic prescription duration was 41 (29-44) days for the ceftaroline group and 40 (28-44) days for the ceftriaxone group (p=0.9). Cephalosporin indications were 112 (64%) BJI, 27 (15%) BSI, 16 (9%) IE, and 21 (12%) multiple infections; ceftaroline was more commonly used in BJI (p=0.03), and ceftriaxone was more commonly used in IE (p=0.01). Neutropenia developed in 16 (9%) patients: 8 (18%) in the ceftaroline group and 8 (6%) in the ceftriaxone group (p=0.03). Median (IQR) onset to neutropenia was 22 (15-28) days, and median (IQR) change in ANC was 2.86 (1.50-4.08) cells/mm3 ; most cases of neutropenia were mild (12 patients [75%]). The median (IQR) time to mild or moderate-severe neutropenia was not significantly different (p=0.68): 22 (14-28) and 22 (21-36) days, respectively. Treatment was discontinued in 4 (25%) patients due to neutropenia. Ceftaroline use was independently associated with neutropenia (adjusted odds ratio 3.2, 95% confidence interval 1.2-10.5) after adjusting for lower body mass index strata (18.5-25 kg/m2 ). CONCLUSION: Prolonged ceftaroline use was an independent risk factor for developing mild neutropenia. Clinicians should be cognizant of ANC monitoring in scenarios where prolonged ceftaroline courses are prescribed.