Background: Group A Streptococcus (GAS; Streptococcus pyogenes) is an important human pathogen that can cause life-threatening invasive disease, ranging from skin/soft tissue infections to infective endocarditis. In the fall of 2022, the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) issued an alert due to a global increase in invasive GAS infections, particularly among children and adults with co-morbidities. An increase in invasive disease was observed at our five-hospital healthcare system in Southeast Michigan. The objective of this study was to describe characteristics of patients with invasive GAS and characterize treatment and outcomes of disease. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study of patients from June 2013 to August 2023 with positive blood cultures for GAS. Patients were identified using a data query for positive blood cultures for GAS through Microsoft SQL Server. Patients with age < 1 8 years, polymicrobial bacteremia, incomplete data, or who were enrolled in hospice and/or died within 48-hours of admission were excluded. Collected variables included: demographics, infection characteristics (syndrome, duration of bacteremia), microbiological characteristics (antimicrobial susceptibility testing; AST), antimicrobial treatment (empiric and final, antitoxin therapy), and clinical outcomes (length of hospital stay [LOS], treatment-associated adverse events, 30-day mortality and infection-related readmission). Results: 250 patients were included (Table 1). More than half were male with median age of 57.5 years. Diabetes mellitus (38%) and chronic kidney disease (23%) were common comorbidities [Table 1]. Persons experiencing homelessness and persons who use injection drugs accounted for 9% and 13% of the cases, respectively. The most common infective syndrome accompanying bacteremia was cellulitis (57%). The majority of patients received vancomycin for empiric therapy (81%) and penicillin (38%) or cephalosporin (36%) for final regimen [Table 2]. A total of 79 GAS isolates (32%) were clindamycin resistant. Clindamycin was included in the empiric regimen of 20 (8%) patients, the final regimen in 44 (18%) of patients, and as antitoxin adjunct therapy in 135 (54%) of patients. A third (33%) of patients received no antitoxin. The average duration of antitoxin therapy was 3.6 days and antimicrobial therapy 19.9 days. The mean LOS was 11.4 days (Table 3). Thirty nine (16%) patients had treatment failure and 8 (3%) experienced C. difficile infection within 30 days of antimicrobial treatment. Thirty-day mortality was 11%; of these, 9% had in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: Invasive GAS infection confers significant morbidity and mortality, and ongoing research is needed to determine the best treatment regimens in the era of increasing clindamycin resistance.

Background: Increased antibiotic resistance is a rising global health problem that can result from overprescribing and misusing antibiotics. The impact of antibiotic overprescribing is significant, particularly among the older adult population due to increased adverse reactions. The objective of this study is to identify higher volume antibiotic outpatient prescribers and their antibiotic prescription rates by region and provider specialties in Arizona. Methods: Publicly available data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Part D Prescriber database during 2021 was analyzed. Those prescribers who had beneficiaries and antibiotic claims of fewer than 11 were excluded from the analysis. Higher-volume prescribers were identified by estimating the providers who prescribed the highest 10th percentile of antibiotic volume. The cumulative percentage of antibiotic prescriptions and prescriber’s antibiotic volume per 1000 beneficiaries (prescribing rate) were compared between the higher volume prescribers and lower volume prescribers by the EMS region and specialty. Median prescribing rates among prescribers were compared using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. All analyses were performed using SAS (version 9.4; SAS Institute, NC). Results: The number of Arizona prescribers included in the dataset during 2021 was 27,124. After excluding prescribers with fewer than 11 antibiotic prescriptions, 14,410 prescribers were included in the analysis. These providers prescribed a total of 1,095,559 antibiotic prescriptions, with a median of 45 antibiotic prescriptions per prescriber. Thirty-nine percent of antibiotic prescriptions were written by the higher volume prescribers and prescribed a median of 236 antibiotic prescriptions. Higher-volume prescribers had a 52% higher median antibiotic prescribing rate compared with lower-volume prescribers (600 versus 396 prescriptions per 1,000 beneficiaries) (p < 0.01). The median antibiotic prescribing rate among higher volume prescribers was highest in the central region (602 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 beneficiaries) compared with other regions (581 prescriptions per 1,000 beneficiaries in the north region) (p < 0.01). The top two specialties that higher volume prescribers practiced were family practice and nurse practitioners. Antibiotic prescribing rates of higher-volume prescribers were highest among dentists (1,118 prescriptions per 1,000 beneficiaries).

Background: Automated sepsis alerts have become a widely implemented screening tool aimed at early detection of clinically unstable patients. Prior research has shown mixed results depending on the type of screening tools used and the patient population studied. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of an alert system created for identifying patients with sepsis to determine utility in clinical practice prior to implementation. Additionally, clinical management of those with and without sepsis was compared to measure potential added benefit of this system in clinical decision making. Methods: A TheraDoc® software sepsis alert was generated for non-ICU patients meeting >2 SIRS criteria within a 24-hour time period (temperature >38°C or 90, respiratory rate >20 or partial pressure CO2 12,000 or 10% bands/immature cells) during March 2023. Alerts were excluded if they were duplicates (using identical criteria or a second alert within 24 hours), triggered by labs collected >48 hours prior, or death or discharge occurred before the time of alert. The primary outcome was positive predictive value (PPV) of sepsis identification, confirmed by ICD-10 codes and diagnostic studies (cultures, imaging). Secondary outcomes included clinical management (antibiotic utilization [AU] and choice, infectious disease [ID] consultations and culture collection). Antibiotics were categorized as broad-spectrum using National Healthcare Safety Network (NSHN) criteria. Secondary outcomes were compared between sepsis and SIRS without infection groups (SIRS) by chi-square analysis. Results: After applying exclusion criteria, 116 of 166 alerts were analyzed; 55 of 116 alerts had confirmed sepsis (PPV 47.4%). Patients with sepsis were more likely to have an ID consult (16% [9/55] vs 7% [4/61]) and cultures collected (70.9% [39/55] vs 39.3% [24/61]) compared to SIRS patients, however these differences were not statistically significant. AU was higher with confirmed infections compared to SIRS patients (94.5% [52/55] vs 32.8% [20/61], p < 0 .05) along with use of broad-spectrum antibiotics (73% [38/52] vs 40% [ 8/20] p < 0 .05). Conclusions: While automated alerts may enable early identification of sepsis, use of SIRS criteria alone has poor specificity, which was borne out by the low PPV in this study. Our study found that management of sepsis patients (as measured by AU and culture ordering) was better than expected and combined with the low PPV of this alert system resulted in our team rejecting widespread adoption of SIRS-based sepsis alerts.

Background: For preoperative antimicrobials to be most effective in preventing surgical site infection, they must be administered early enough to reach a minimum tissue concentration that is specific to each drug. However, antibiotics have widely ranging infusion durations, from intravenous push over a few minutes to slow infusion over two hours. Heterogeneity in recommended infusion administration instructions, importance of infusion completion prior to incision, and complexity of healthcare systems present just some of the barriers to achieving appropriate preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. We compared the percentage of infusion completion prior to case start before and after a multidisciplinary intervention. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of all patients undergoing a colorectal surgical procedure as defined by the National Healthcare Safety Network at a single university hospital from 10/19/22-10/18/23. A recognition that some antimicrobials were not finished infusing prior to surgery start prompted a multidisciplinary group including antibiotic stewardship, colorectal surgery, perioperative nursing, and anesthesiology to create and deploy an order set shortening metronidazole infusion duration from 60 to 30 minutes and initiating infusion in the preoperative area instead of the operating room. No change to the cefazolin intravenous push over 3-5 minutes was made. Goal antimicrobial infusion was defined as completed infusion within 120 minutes prior to incision, and calculations were made based on infusion start time and case start times. Rate of infusion completion was compared from the pre-intervention period to a post-intervention period from 10/19/23 through the end of the year. Results: For all colorectal surgeries in the pre-intervention period, 95% (n=418/440) of cefazolin doses and 0.002% (n=1/427) doses of metronidazole met goal infusion timing. At-goal infusion timing increased to 99% (n=84/85) of cefazolin doses and 68% (n=56/82) of metronidazole doses in the post-intervention period, resulting in a statistically significant improvement for metronidazole (Fischer’s exact test p < 0 .00001). The average time to metronidazole infusion completion changed from 45 minutes after procedure start to 58 minutes before procedure start. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary team engagement and deployment of an order set incorporating changes in duration and workflow for metronidazole infusion improved all antimicrobial preoperative infusions for colorectal procedures. Increased awareness of completing antimicrobial infusion prior to the incision may improve preoperative antimicrobial administration.

Disclosure: Lindsay Donohue: Advisor - Abbvie

Background: Medicare claims are frequently used to study Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) epidemiology. Categorizing CDI based on location of onset and potential exposure is critical in understanding transmission patterns and prevention strategies. While claims data are well-suited for identifying prior healthcare utilization exposures, they lack specimen collection and diagnosis dates to assign likely location of onset. Algorithms to classify CDI onset and healthcare association using claims data have been published, but the degree of misclassification is unknown. Methods: We linked patients with laboratory-confirmed CDI reported to four Emerging Infections Program (EIP) sites from 2016-2020 to Medicare beneficiaries using residence, birth date, sex, and hospitalization and/or healthcare exposure dates. Uniquely linked patients with fee-for-service Medicare A/B coverage and complete EIP case report forms were included. Patients with a claims CDI diagnosis code within ±28 days of a positive CDI test reported to EIP were categorized as hospital-onset (HO), long-term care facility onset (LTCFO), or community-onset (CO, either healthcare facility-associated [COHCFA] or community-associated [CA]) using a previously published algorithm based on claim type, ICD-10-CM code position, and duration of hospitalization (if applicable). EIP classifies CDI into these categories using positive specimen collection date and other information from chart review (e.g. admit/discharge dates). We assessed concordance of EIP and claims case classifications using Cohen’s kappa. Results: Of 10,002 eligible EIP-identified CDI cases, 7,064 were linked to a unique beneficiary; 3,451 met Medicare A/B fee-for-service coverage inclusion criteria. Of these, 650 (19%) did not have a claims diagnosis code ±28 days of the EIP specimen collection date (Table); 48% (313/650) of those without a claims diagnosis code were categorized by EIP as CA CDI. Among those with a CDI diagnosis code, concurrence of claims-based and EIP CDI classification was 68% (κ=0.56). Concurrence was highest for HO and lowest for COHCFA CDI. A substantial number of EIP-classified CO CDIs (30%, Figure) were misclassified as HO using the claims-based algorithm; half of these had a primary ICD-10 diagnosis code of sepsis (226/454; 50%). Conclusions: Evidence of CDI in claims data was found for 81% of EIP-reported CDI cases. Medicare classification algorithms concurred with the EIP classification in 68% of cases. Discordance was most common for community-onset CDI patients, many of whom were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of sepsis. Misclassification of CO-CDI as HO may bias findings of claims-based CDI studies.

Age related Antibiotic Prescribing Trends of Clostridioides Difficile Incident Cases within Davidson County Tennessee 2012-2020 Michael Norris, MSN, Priscilla Pineda, MPH, Malakai Miller, MPH, Raquel Villegas, PhD, MS Background: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is one of the most common healthcare-associated infections in the United States. Antibiotic use is considered a predisposing factor for CDI. The State of Tennessee collaborates with the CDC as part of an ongoing Emerging Infections Program (EIP). We sought to better understand the impact of antimicrobial use prior to the date of incident of CDI within the defined age groups of Davidson County, Tennessee. Methods: Surveillance data from the years 2012–2020 were examined for all positive CDI cases within Davidson County. A positive CDI case was defined as a laboratory confirmed case who is ≥ 1 year old living in Davidson County, Tennessee. Antibiotic use was assessed in the 12 weeks prior to CDI. Trends of overall antibiotic use, including the top five antibiotics prescribed by our defined age groups were examined. Analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4. Only fully abstracted cases are included in the study. Results: Among 7,346 positive CDI incident cases identified between 2012–2020, 5,467 (74.4%) received antibiotics 12 weeks prior to a confirmed infection. We looked at the trend of antibiotic prescription over time from 2012-2020 (77.0%, 76.7%, 74.3%, 80.7%, 76.3%, 75.1%, 73.7%, 74.8% and 71.5%) which has decreased since 2015. The prevalence of antibiotic use by age group 1-18 years, 19-44 years, 45-64 years, 65-74 years, and 75+ years was 53.4%, 68.8%, 74.5%, 79.2% and 83.1% respectively. The five most prescribed antibiotics were ceftriaxone ((11.1%), followed by vancomycin IV (10.9%), ciprofloxacin (10.2%), metronidazole (9.1%), and piperacillin (8.6%). Cases in the 45-64 years age group were more likely to be prescribed vancomycin IV, ciprofloxacin, metronidazole, and piperacillin-tazobactam compared to other age groups (p < 0.0001). There was no statistically significant association between ceftriaxone prescription and our defined age groups. Conclusion: In this study, almost three quarters of the CDI cases had received antimicrobial therapy in the 12 weeks prior to infection. Since antibiotic prescription is a potentially modifiable risk factor for CDI, a more in-depth study, combined with an antibiotic stewardship program implementation in all settings would be beneficial to reduce the risk of CDI complications of antibiotic usage.

Background: Gastrointestinal conditions are common in hospitalized patients. Decreased mobility, dietary changes, medications and their underlying illness may alter patients’ bowel movements. It’s important for health care providers to be aware of patient’s bowel habits, especially for early identification of Clostridiodies difficile infection (CDI). Prior research has shown that patient modesty may be a barrier to discussing bowel habits with nurses and providers. This can lead to delay in diagnosis of CDI, lack of timely isolation and possible misclassification of community onset CDI cases as hospital onset (HO-CDI). Methods: A Bowel Habits Assessment Tool (BHAT) was developed to assist health care providers in learning skills to assess and document patient bowel habits accurately. The tool provides a structured approach to help clinicians gather relevant information, identify abnormalities, and promote effective communication with patients. The tool was developed by an infectious disease physician and modeled on existing tools utilized to take a sexual history. A team of infectious disease physicians, nurses and a gastroenterologist reviewed the tool and provided feedback. See Table 1. The tool was introduced as a pilot program at a 180 bed academically affiliated Veterans Affairs Hospital. Micro educational sessions were held to provide education about the importance of a bowel habit history, introduce the tool and teach its use in clinical care. The teaching sessions were led by an Infectious Disease physician and a nurse infection preventionist. An anonymous pre and post survey employing a 5-point Likert scale was administered to participants. All participation was voluntary. This project was reviewed and approved as a Quality Improvement by the VA Research Office, Eastern Colorado Health Care System. Results: Twenty nine healthcare personnel participated in the pilot. Participants included nurses (13), resident physicians (13), medical students (2) and nursing assistants (1). 59% of participants stated that they strongly agree with the statement “I am comfortable discussing patient’s bowel habits” on the pre-survey. (Question 1). This increased to 73% after the BHAT educational session. The mean difference between pre and post survey responses for question one was 0.45 (CI 0.08761 to 0.8089, p= 0.0167). All participants found the BHAT related to their work and useful, with 41% strongly agreeing and 52% somewhat agreeing that the BHAT was useful. See figure 1: Survey Responses. Conclusions: The effectiveness of a bowel habit assessment tool was demonstrated using a pre and post survey. BHAT improved clinicians comfort level discussing patient’s bowel habits.

Background: In August 2021, Saint Luke’s Health System (SLHS) transitioned Clostridioides difficile (C. diff.) testing from polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-only to two-step enzyme immunoassay (EIA) reflex following PCR+ for suspected C. diff. infection. Uncertainty in patient management may arise when PCR and EIA testing differ. Previous studies suggested that disease severity varies when a patient’s results demonstrate PCR+ and EIA- due to possible colonization. Clinicians may not treat if diarrhea self-resolves, patients remain stable, or alternate causes of diarrhea exist. We compared clinical outcomes of patients who received treatment to those who did not. Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study from August 2021-August 2023 in a multi-site, integrated health system, comparing 181 inpatients with PCR+/EIA- C. diff. test results stratified by no treatment (0-48 hours of C. diff. targeted treatment), partial treatment (2-9 days), or full treatment (10+ days). The primary outcome was length of stay. Secondary outcomes were readmission rates, need for colectomy, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and diarrhea resolution on day of discharge. Results: Of the 181 patients, 144 received full treatment, 17 had partial, and 20 had no treatment. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups. No significant difference was found for length of stay or any secondary outcomes (Table 1). Table 2 provides a subgroup of patients who received no treatment vs those receiving partial or full treatment. Conclusion: In this study, treatment exposure did not affect clinical outcomes for patients with PCR+/EIA- results, though sample sizes may limit generalizability. Further research is warranted regarding the clinical approach to PCR+/EIA-

Background: Previous studies have found that solely relying on molecular testing is likely to result in the overdiagnosis and overtreatment of C. difficile infections (CDI). Comparable outcomes have been demonstrated in patients with a positive molecular test (C. difficile PCR) result and a negative toxin immunoassay (C. difficile toxin) compared to patients without CDI by either testing Method: In 2021 Memorial Hermann Healthcare System converted from C. difficile PCR testing only to C. difficile PCR testing with reflex to C. difficile toxin if positive. A previous internal audit revealed that despite this change in testing, patients who were C. difficile PCR positive and C. difficile toxin negative were still receiving treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of C. difficile reporting on the total days of therapy directed at the treatment of CDI of an 11-hospital health care system in patients who testing C. difficile PCR positive/C. difficile toxin negative. Methods: Pre-post, multicenter, retrospective, observational study conducted from January 1, 2023 through March 31, 2023 (pre-intervention) and July 1, 2023 through September 31, 2023 (post-intervention) which included hospitalized adult patients with a C. difficile test ordered within the study period. Intervention included a change in reporting of C. difficile PCR positive/C. difficile toxin negative results to display a laboratory comment. The comment notifies providers of the positive C. difficile PCR result while highlighting this probably reflects colonization with C. difficile as the C. difficile toxin is negative and treatment is rarely indicated. Results: In total, 989 C. difficile PCR were order in the pre-intervention cohort compared to 1009 in post-intervention. The overall rate of patients that received therapy directed at CDI decreased from 14% to 10% after the implementation of reporting change. Total days of therapy (DOT) also decreased by 29% from 482 to 342. Days of therapy that were administered to patients with C. difficile PCR positive/negative C. difficile toxin test decreased from 183 to 91. Conclusions: Adjusting the reporting of C. difficile results led to an overall numerical decrease of antimicrobial DOT directed at CDI treatment. In particular, among patients with a positive C. difficile PCR/C. difficile toxin negative test a 50% reduction in DOT was observed. Further data are required to assess the overall clinical impact of adjusting CDI reporting methods.

Background: Inappropriate Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) laboratory testing is common in hospitals and leads to over diagnosis, unnecessary treatment, and elevated hospital onset C. difficile infection (HO-CDI) metrics. Diagnostic stewardship is essential to avoid inappropriate testing, but limited data exists on optional interventions. Methods: A diagnostic stewardship intervention targeting CDI testing comprised of education and prospective audit with feedback was performed a VA facility (inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care units). Education on appropriate indications for CDI testing was provided in pre-intervention (9/2022 to 5/2023) and intervention periods (6/2023 to 12/2023). During the intervention period, all CDI tests (positive or negative) were audited after completion in real-time by an Infectious Diseases physician and feedback was given to ordering providers and/or their supervising physician (if trainee) for all tests not meeting an appropriate indication. Appropriate indication was defined as ≥3 liquid stools in 24 hours or symptoms of fulminant disease. Testing was considered inappropriate if no clinical symptoms, patient received laxatives within 48 hours, test was performed for test-of-cure or within 7 days of a prior test with no clinical change, or delayed testing in patients with diarrhea on admission. The rate of HO-CDI per 10,000 bed days of care (BDOC) per LabID event was compared during the pre-intervention and intervention periods, and ordering appropriateness was compared for all tests and hospital onset tests before (3/2023-5/2023) and after (6/2023-12/2023) feedback was performed. Results: After starting audit and feedback, HO-CDI rate decreased from 3.92 per 10,000 BDOC to 0.99 per 10,000 BDOC (p=0.03). HO-CDI rate among tests that were inappropriate was 2.19 and 0.80 per 10,000 BDOC during the pre-intervention and intervention periods, respectively (p=0.40). Average overall tests per month decreased from 37.8 to 28.1 after the intervention. Rate of all inappropriate tests decreased from 16.25 to 7.96 per 10,000 BDOC (p=0.04) and rate of hospital onset inappropriate tests trended toward decrease from 9.29 to 4.77 tests per 10,000 BDOC (p=0.07). The most common reasons for inappropriate testing were < 3 episodes of diarrhea in 24 hours (54% pre-intervention, 65% intervention) and laxative use (57% pre-intervention, 45% intervention). No cases of delayed testing leading to worsened disease were identified during the intervention. Cost savings for decreased tests were estimated at $150-300 per month. Conclusion: An intervention comprised of education and real-time audit and feedback of all CDI tests obtained at a VA facility resulted in decreased inappropriate testing and reduced the rate of HO-CDI.

Background: Clostridioides difficile PCR is extremely sensitive but cannot differentiate colonization versus active disease. Over diagnosis of C. difficile infection (CDI) has negative consequences including overuse of antibiotics targeting C. difficile, increased hospital-acquired (HA)-CDI rates, and increased healthcare costs. We describe the implementation of a Clinical Decision Support tool embedded in the C. difficile order and the result on testing, HA-CDI rates and healthcare costs. Methods: The C. difficile order was updated in June 2023 with 4 dynamic questions that reflex if specific criteria are identified in the electronic medical record in the prior 24 hours: less than 3 loose stools documented, receipt of laxative, opioid antagonist, oral contrast, or tube feed initiation. If any criteria are identified, an embedded alert triggers and the provider must choose “yes, high clinical suspicion” or “no (exit and cancel order)” in addition to providing an order indication. All inpatient C. difficile tests were reviewed from July 1 to Sept 30, 2022 (pre-update) and July 1 to Sept 30, 2023 (post-update). An order rate was calculated per 10,000 patient days as well as HA-CDI rate. Cost analysis was completed using direct lab costs and published costs of $35,000 per HA-CDI. Results of the order questions were reviewed post-update. Incident rate comparison was completed using medcalc. Results: Pre-update, 1147 tests were conducted, with an order rate of 104.3. Post-update, 919 tests were performed, with an order rate of 86.6. The positivity rate was 16.1% pre-update and 14.7% post-update. The incidence rate difference was 0.00177 (P 15 (145, 16%). 166 (18%) patients who received laxatives (18 positive, positivity rate 11%) were still tested. Conclusion: Implementation of a dynamic order led to a significant reduction in the total number of C. difficile PCR tests performed with associated reduction in HA-CDI and cost savings. Despite this, patients receiving laxatives were still being tested for C. difficile, highlighting the need for ongoing education and feedback. These results support the use of dynamic ordering for diagnostic stewardship, which can benefit both patients and hospitals.

Background: Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) are a crucial public health threat becoming a worldwide problem. In 2017, there were 223,900 incident cases and 12,800 deaths in the United States. Underlying conditions, such as diabetes mellitus (DM), put individuals at a greater risk for developing an infection. Whereas CDI was once believed to be mostly healthcare-associated, increasing evidence points to transmission in community settings (CA). We investigated characteristics of CA CDI and associations between pre-existing conditions and CA incident CDI cases using data from Tennessee’s CDI surveillance program, an active population- and laboratory-based surveillance system conducted through CDC’s Emerging Infections Program. CA incident CDI case data were downloaded from the Incident Case Management System from 2017 to 2021. Count and percentages were determined for each underlying condition, number of underlying conditions, and biological sex. Chi-square analyses determined associations between underlying conditions and sex. Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS v9.4. 2,326 CA incident CDI cases were identified from the catchment area. The case rates per 100,000 population between 2017 and 2021 were 79.7, 81.9, 73.7, 50.7, and 49.6. A total of 39% of the cases were 65 years or older. Most cases were women (64.8%). The overall prevalence for any underlying condition among CA CDI cases was 67.4%. A total of 29.4% of incident cases had one condition, 18.5% had two conditions, and 19.4% had three or more conditions. The most frequently reported pre-existing conditions was DM (22.9%) and gastrointestinal disease (21.7%). We looked at the prevalence of underlying conditions separated in men and women. Men with CA CDI were more likely to have chronic kidney disease (CKD) (19.1% vs 12.7%), DM (26.0% vs 21.2%), immunocompromised conditions (6.4% vs 3.6%), liver diseases (6.5% vs 2.8%), and plegias (1.0% vs 0.2%) than women with CA CDI. Women with CA CDI were more likely to have chronic lung diseases (17.4% vs 12.6%) and connective tissue diseases (4.9% vs 2.2%) than men with CA CDI. Although the incident CA CDI case rate in Davidson County decreased from 2018 to 2021, it remains a significant threat. In this analysis, underlying conditions in persons with CA CDI were highly prevalent. Men were more likely to have underlying conditions in general, and specifically CKD and DM, than women. Improving understanding of the prevalence of these conditions with CA CDI cases, along with their antibiotic use and community exposures, can help drive prevention strategies to mitigate CA CDI transmission.

Background: Prior research has implicated contaminated surfaces in the transmission of Clostridioides difficile within the hospital. To reduce the risk of transmission, enhanced environmental hygiene is performed in rooms of patients with known C.difficile infection (CDI). We wished to evaluate the residual impact of environmental surfaces on hospital-onset CDI (HO-CDI) by comparing HO-CDI rates before and after the opening of a new 504-bed hospital building, HUP Pavilion (PAV). We hypothesized that we would observe a reduction in HO-CDI after opening of PAV due to a reduced burden of C.difficile spores in the environment. Methods: We included NHSN reported HO-CDI rates for 28 months prior and 24 months after opening of PAV. Upon opening, patients were divided between the old building (HUP) and PAV. We included all patient units before and after opening. We created hierarchical models of HO-CDI rates using Stan Hamiltonian Monte Carlo (HMC) version 2.30.1, via the “cmdstanr” and “brms” packages with a GAM smooth function by month and intervention period with default, weakly-informative priors. Results: At baseline, there was an average of approximately 20,100 patient days per month, subsequently divided between HUP and PAV (mean 10,100 and 12,100 patient days per month). After opening of PAV, we observed a reduced HO-CDI rate (mean 0.21 vs 0.31 per 1000 patient days, P=0.01). When comparing the two specific buildings after opening of PAV, there was a greater reduction noticed in the old building (HUP) as compared to the new building (PAV) (0.12 vs 0.29 per 1000 patient days) (Figure 1). The predicted contrast in HO-CDI rate (Figure 2), shows no immediate change in HO-CDI after opening, however a sustained reduction estimated at 0.1 HO-CDI events per 1000 patient days for the duration of follow-up. Conclusions: We observed a reduction in HO-CDI rates after the opening of a new hospital building. The difference in HO-CDI rates between hospital buildings after the move is likely due to the concentration of high-risk patient cohorts within this building. Our findings suggests that there remains an opportunity to reduce HO-CDI through environmental hygiene. However, it is possible that other factors beyond surface environment contributed to an observed reduction in HO-CDI, including other concurrent infection control interventions that focused on smaller populations within the hospital. In future work we will investigate the durability of this observed effect with additional analyses including patient-level risk for HO-CDI.

Background: Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) do not distinguish between colonization and Clostridioides difficile (C.diff) associated diarrhea. On April 5th 2023 our laboratory introduced a new C. diff testing methodology. Previously, if a C. diff screen result was negative for toxin and positive for glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), a second confirmatory test was conducted with NAAT. This confirmatory test was removed from our testing algorithm. NAAT testing may be ordered ad hoc when clinically relevant diarrhea persists, and alternative etiologies have been excluded. We wanted to evaluate the impact of change with testing methods. Method: Retrospective review of all inpatient hospital-acquired C.diff infections reported to NHSN database from Ascension Michigan Market which comprises 14 acute care hospitals from June 2019 to August 2023. Data for C diff was analyzed every quarter. The risk adjustments used to calculate the Standardized Infection Ratios (SIRs) for C. diff infections was set at 0.48 based on CDC mean SIR established for acute care hospitals in 2022. Results: A total of 14 acute care hospitals were included from which 866 C.diff cases were reported during this period. Overall, the SIR dropped from 0.59 from June-August 2019 to 0.32 reported from March-May 2023; 45.7 % decrease. The maximum reduction in SIR was seen post intervention at 0.21 from June-August 2023 which was 78.3% below the benchmark of 0.48. (Figure) Conclusions: Strategies to optimize current laboratory tests are critical to differentiate C. diff infection from colonization. The current strategy by changing the testing method led to substantial reduction in C-diff. Diagnostic stewardship studies should ideally include outcome measures targeted to post-intervention patients to determine clinical relevance and patient safety. Optimizing test utilization remains a critical component of quality healthcare delivery. Future NHSN updated surveillance definition will require incorporating clinical decision-making into the metric; that is including a combination of any positive C-diff test plus initiation of antibiotic therapy for C-diff.

Disclosure: Reese Cosimi: Advisory Board - Abbvie

Background: Patients colonized with Clostridioides difficile are at risk of transmitting C. difficile to other patients, and of developing C. difficile infection (CDI). Known risk factors for carriage include previous hospitalization, gastric acid suppression and previous CDI. Data regarding duration of carriage and its predictors are lacking but could be useful to better understand the natural evolution of carriage and better estimate the likelihood of transmission or progression to CDI. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of C. difficile colonized patients with > = 1 admission to a tertiary academic institution between November 2013 and January 2017. Colonization status was determined upon hospital admission by detection of TcdB gene by polymerase chain reaction on a rectal screening swab, as part of a systematic screening program. Overall duration of carriage and predictors of prolonged carriage were explored using Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox regression. Results: There were 134 patients, who after having a positive initial screening test (and therefore identified as colonized with C. difficile), had subsequent testing. The median age was 77 years (IQR, 66 to 85), and 53.6% of the patients were female. After hospital discharge, 26 (19.4%) colonized patients progressed to CDI. Mean duration of follow up was 269 days, with a median of 179 days. Median duration of carriage was 211 days, (95% confidence interval (CI) [157, 264]). Predictors associated with decreased duration of C. difficile colonization included younger age (HR per unit decrease (year), 1.013; 95% CI, 1.025 to 1.001; p=0.03), and receipt of antibiotics in the 3 months prior to first admission (mean days to clearance of patients with and without recent antibiotic use, 252 days vs 372 days, respectively; HR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.01 to 2.36; p < 0 .04). By contrast, the presence of comorbidities (e.g. heart failure, diabetes, cancer, and chronic kidney disease), the use of proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs), the receipt of antibiotics during the first admission, and the duration of first hospitalization were not associated with significant differences in duration of carriage. Conclusion: This study is the largest cohort of C. difficile carriers with longitudinal follow up of their colonization status. It highlights the extended duration of carrier status especially in older patients and identifies predictors of prolonged carriage. Further studies are needed to understand the underlying relationship with the predictors identified in this study.

Background: The diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is challenging. Despite guideline-directed, multistep testing algorithms and diagnostic stewardship, the treatment of C. difficile colonization persists. The testing algorithm at our system utilizes an initial real-time PCR test (PCR) for Toxin B gene, which if positive, reflexes to an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for detecting Toxins A and B. Discordant results (PCR +/EIA -) are suggestive of colonization, but the majority of patients with discordant results are treated for CDI. Correlation of C. difficile EIA B polymerase chain reaction (PCR) cycle thresholds (Ct) with the presence of free EIA and disease severity has been observed, but the ability to use Ct in the decision to treat patients with discordant results is unclear. Our study assesses if Ct values and other clinical characteristics favor treatment in select patients with discordant Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of adult patients (≥ 18-year-old) with positive C. difficile PCR results that were admitted to our health system between June 01 and August 31, 2023. C. difficile PCR and Ct results were obtained by Cepheid GeneXpert and Toxin A and B EIA results were obtained by Meridian Bioscience Immunocard. Patients with discordant (PCR+/EIA) and true positive (PCR+/EIA+) results were compared. We assessed demographics, past medical history, clinical characteristics, severity of illness, PCR Ct values, treatment, and clinical outcomes including: 30-day all-cause mortality and re-admission, and 60-day CDI repeat testing and treatment. Results Of the 122 patients identified, 89 patients had discordant results and 43 had true positive Results: Severity of illness and other clinical and laboratory characteristics were similar between both groups. Mean Ct values were significantly lower for true positive results compared to discordant results, 24.28 vs 29.27, respectively (p26 (p=.08). Of the patients with discordant results, 73 completed treatment for CDI and no difference in clinical outcomes was observed compared to patients with discordant results that were not treated. Conclusion Ct values were lower among patients with true positive results compared to patients with discordant Conclusion: There were no statistically significant different rates of severe or fulminant CDI among patients with discordant results and Ct values < 26, although this finding may be limited by sample size and Ct may be helpful in deciding which discordant patients to treat.

Background: Our institution utilizes a two-step algorithm consisting of an initial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test with positive results reflexed to an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for toxin. Institutional guidelines implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic recommended applying clinical judgment to patients with PCR+/Toxin- (discordant) results when determining if treatment is indicated. Pre-pandemic, we found that clinicians continued CDI-directed therapy in 56% of patients following the Toxin- result. Our study aims to identify how clinicians interpret PCR+/Toxin- results and reasons for management decisions post-pandemic. Methods: At an academic medical center, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of the first 50 inpatient charts with PCR+/Toxin- results from August to October 2022. Data was abstracted from clinical, pharmacy, and microbiology databases. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients continued on CDI-directed therapy for ≥24 hours after the Toxin- result became available. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients prescribed a full treatment course for CDI and the reasons for continuing treatment. Results: There were 37 patients (74%) who started CDI-directed treatment after initial PCR+ Results: Of these patients, 59% (22/37) were continued on treatment for ≥24 hours after the Toxin- result (primary outcome). 77% (17/22) of these patients who met the primary outcome completed full treatment courses. Three patients were transitioned to prophylaxis dosing after the Toxin- result. The most common reason for continuing treatment after discordant results was high clinical suspicion for CDI (Figure). There were no CDI-related complications in this 50-patient cohort. In immunocompromised patients, 70% (16/23) started treatment after initial PCR+ results and 81% (13/16) met the primary outcome. In patients admitted specifically to immunocompromised inpatient services, 90% (9/10) started treatment after initial PCR+ results and 100% (9/9) met the primary outcome. Conclusion: The majority of patients started on treatment after the PCR+ result were continued on treatment following the Toxin- result, though several of these patients did not complete full treatment courses. Treatment rates were similar to our pre-pandemic baseline. When patients were continued on treatment after discordant results, clinicians cited appropriate high clinical suspicion. Notably, every patient admitted to an immunocompromised service was continued on treatment after Toxin- Results: Overall, clinicians are following institutional guidelines by applying clinical judgement when interpreting discordant Results: Further research will help identify what variables affect clinician interpretation and management practices for discordant results, which will help shape institutional guideline updates, clinician education, and additional stewardship interventions.

Introduction: Hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infection (HO-CDI), reported as laboratory-identified (LabID) event, is common in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially those with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and is associated with prolonged length of hospitalization and more severe disease. CKD patients are at increased of developing CDI due to frequent antimicrobial and healthcare exposures. The objective of this study was to assess recent trends of HO-CDI in patients on a nephrology unit at our academic, tertiary care institution. Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study of patients with HO-CDI who were hospitalized on a nephrology unit between January 2021 to December 2023. Collected variables included: demographic data, characterization of HO-CDI risk factors, infection and diagnosis (including prior history of CDI, toxin versus nucleic acid amplification test [NAAT] positivity, number of loose stools), CDI rate (defined as CDI count/patient days x1000), standardized antimicrobial administration ratio (SAAR) for high-risk for CDI antimicrobials (defined by the National Healthcare Safety Network), and infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, including hand hygiene audit rates. Results: A total of 30 HO-CDI infections were reported on the nephrology unit [Table], with 8 occurring in 2021, 5 in 2022, and 17 in 2023. The median age of patients was 70.8 (range: 37-96) years, and most patients (57%) were female. The majority of patients were admitted from home (73%), and two patients (7%) had a history of CDI in the last 6 months. Among the CDI cases, 60% were NAAT positive and toxin negative, and only 50% had >3 bowel movements (BM) within 24 hours prior to the positive test. Ten percent received promotility agents prior to testing. Most cases (77%) occurred when other CDI patients were on the unit. Hand hygiene compliance rates averaged 81% over the three-year period [Figure 1A]. Eight-four per cent of patients received antibiotics within 30 days of CDI diagnosis; SAAR was >1 for quarters 2 and 4 in 2022, and quarter 1 in 2023 [Figure 1B]. Conclusion: On our nephrology unit, patients often had < 3 BM within 24 hours of CDI diagnosis, and 60% of cases were toxin-negative, NAAT-positive, suggesting possible C. difficile colonization, rather than true infection. In addition, an elevated SAAR correlated with high CDI rates. Multicomponent interventions may be required to reduce the rates of HO-CDI in CKD patients. Opportunities include emphasis on diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship, environmental cleaning and adherence to IPC practices, including hand hygiene.

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is among the most prevalent healthcare-associated infections. Clinical diagnosis of CAUTI and National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions do not always align. Most patients with indwelling urinary catheters ultimately develop asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) due to bacterial colonization and may be misattributed as CAUTI. Urine cultures ordered on patients with ASB may lead to reporting of non-clinically significant CAUTI to NHSN. We sought to examine factors associated with ordering inappropriate urine cultures in patients with urinary catheters. Methods: All CAUTIs that were reported to the NHSN at a large academic medical center in Eastern North Carolina were evaluated from October 2021-July 2023. A logistic regression model was fit for patients treated for urinary tract infection (UTI) with the following covariates: age, sex, time of urine culture order, provider type, and days that the urinary catheter was in place. All data analysis was performed in SAS (SAS Institute Inc., SAS 9.4, Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc., 2002-2023). Results: Table 1 demonstrates patient characteristics stratified by treatment for UTI. The analysis suggests that abnormalresults from urine cultures ordered overnight were less likely to be treated with antibiotics,and this result was statistically significant in both the adjusted and unadjusted analyses – see table 2 and 3. The model also suggests abnormal results from urine cultures ordered by housestaff and older patients were more likely to be treated for UTI, but these results were not statistically significant – see table 3. Finally, the longer a catheter was in place the less likely an abnormalurine culture was to be treated and this finding was statistically significant – see table 3. Conclusion: Cultures that did not prompt antimicrobial treatment did not impact patient care decisions and could be considered as inappropriate orders. This can result in CAUTIs reported to NHSN that were not clinically significant. Abnormal results from cultures that were ordered by the overnight team were less likely to be treated for clinical UTI and this may represent an important target for diagnostic stewardship interventions.

Background: Indwelling urinary catheters (UCs) generate biofilm that grows over time, raising concern that after several days any culture from a UC may generate a false positive result. Whether and when to replace a UC prior to culture is controversial, with prior studies recommending anywhere from 3 to 14 days as appropriate, but with no conclusive data. We evaluated urine culture results across a large healthcare system where, beginning in 2019, some facilities adopted the practice of changing UC before collection if indwelling for 3 days or more. Method: Analysis was from nursing electronic health record documentation of UC changes and urine cultures collected on patients with indwelling UC in 2022. UC changes were defined as a stop followed by a start within 12 hours. Patient exclusion criteria included a UC other than “temporary/indwelling” and surgical procedure during the admission. Statistics applied Pearson’s Chi-squared test with Yates continuity correction using R Core Team (2023) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Result: Total UC episodes meeting criteria was 88,347 across 152 acute care hospitals. Episodes in days was 0-3 for 65%, 4-9 for 29% and >9 for 6%. Most urine cultures were taken at 3 days (p UC Changed? Culture Negative Culture Positive No 4916 (98.8%) 61 (1.2%) Yes 588 (98.7%) 8 (1.3%) Cultures were positive at the same rate whether a UC change occurred or not at >3 days (p=0.96). No difference was found in NHSN reported CAUTI prevalence among the UC change vs. no change in the >3 day groups. Conclusion: Urine culture results do not appear to be impacted by UC change as early as 3 days. UC change without benefit may generate unnecessary costs and complications.