We explored the utility of the standardized infection ratio (SIR) for surgical site infection (SSI) reporting in an Australian jurisdiction.

Retrospective chart review.

Statewide SSI surveillance data from 2013 to 2019.

Individuals who had cardiac bypass surgery (CABG), colorectal surgery (COLO), cesarean section (CSEC), hip prosthesis (HPRO), or knee prosthesis (KPRO) procedures.

The SIR was calculated by dividing the number of observed infections by the number of predicted infections as determined using the National Healthcare Safety Network procedure-specific risk models. In line with a minimum precision criterion, an SIR was not calculated if the number of predicted infections was <1.

A SIR >0 (≥1 observed SSI, predicted number of SSI ≥1, no missing covariates) could be calculated for a median of 89.3% of reporting quarters for CABG, 75.0% for COLO, 69.0% for CSEC, 0% for HPRO, and 7.1% for KPRO. In total, 80.6% of the reporting quarters, when the SIR was not calculated, were due to no observed infections or predicted infections <1, and 19.4% were due to missing covariates alone. Within hospitals, the median percentage of quarters during which zero infections were observed was 8.9% for CABG, 20.0% for COLO, 25.4% for CSEC, 67.3% for HPRO, and 71.4% for KPRO.

Calculating an SIR for SSIs is challenging for hospitals in our regional network, primarily because of low event numbers and many facilities with predicted infections <1. Our SSI reporting will continue to use risk-indexed rates, in tandem with SIR values when predicted number of SSI ≥1.

To assess whether 16 reporting guidelines of Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of Health Research (EQUATOR) were used in infectious diseases research publications.

This cross-sectional, audit-type study assessed articles published in five infectious diseases journals in 2019.

All articles were manually reviewed to assess if a reporting guideline was advisable and searched for the names and acronyms of 16 reporting guidelines. An “advisable use rate” was calculated.

We reviewed 1,251 manuscripts across five infectious diseases journals. Guideline use was advisable for 973 (75%) articles. Reporting guidelines were used in 85 articles, 6.1% of total articles, and 8% (95% CI 6%–9%) of articles for which guidelines were advised. The advisable use rate ranged from 0.06 to 0.17 for any guideline, 0–0.08 for CONSORT, 0.53–1 for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA), and 0–0.66 for Transparent reporting of a multivariable prediction model for individual prognosis or diagnosis (TRIPOD) : The TRIPOD statement. No trends were observed across the five journals.

The use of EQUATOR-related reporting guidelines is infrequent, despite journals and publishers promoting their usage. Whether this finding is attributable to knowledge, acceptance, or perceived usefulness of the guidelines still needs to be clarified.

Recent studies have sought to understand the epidemiology and impact of beta-lactam allergy labels on children; however, most of these studies have focused on penicillin allergy labels. Fewer studies assess cephalosporin antibiotic allergy labels in children. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence, factors associated with, and impact of cephalosporin allergy labels in children cared for in the primary care setting.

Cephalosporin allergy labels were reviewed among children in a dual center, retrospective, birth cohort who were born between 2010 and 2020 and followed in 90 pediatric primary care practices. Antibiotic prescriptions for acute otitis media were compared in children with and without cephalosporin allergies.

334,465 children comprised the birth cohort and 2,877 (0.9%) were labeled as cephalosporin allergic during the study period at a median age of 1.6 years. Third-generation cephalosporins were the most common class of cephalosporin allergy (83.0%). Cephalosporin allergy labels were more common in children with penicillin allergy labels than those without (5.8% vs. 0.6%). Other factors associated with a cephalosporin allergy label included white race, private insurance, presence of a chronic condition, and increased health care utilization. Children with third-generation cephalosporin allergy labels received more amoxicillin/clavulanate (28.8% vs. 10.2%) and macrolides (10.4% vs. 1.9%) and less amoxicillin (55.8% vs. 70.9%) for treatment of acute otitis media than non-allergic peers p < 0.001.

One in 100 children is labeled as cephalosporin allergic, and these children receive different antibiotics for the treatment of acute otitis media compared to non-allergic peers.

Hospital-acquired (HA) COVID-19 infections are known to increase morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and outcome of HA COVID-19 in different specialties across the wards in 18 hospitals belonging to the Helsinki University Hospital (HUH) responsible for secondary and tertiary care of a population of 1.8 million.

Retrospective population-based cohort study.

Secondary and tertiary care hospitals.

Inpatients with HA COVID-19 infection.

The HA COVID-19 infections with patient characteristics were retrospectively searched from HUH patient database from 1st October 2021 to 31st March 2022. All positive SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) from any ward were reviewed. The COVID-19 infection was classified as HA if a notification of HA infection was done or SARS-CoV-2 NAAT was positive ≥6 days after hospital admission or medical records revealed a known exposure for COVID-19 during hospital stay.

177 HA COVID-19 infections were retrieved with an incidence of 0.55 per 1000 patient days. Of these patients, 71 (40%) were treated in medicine, 52 (29%) in operative, and 54 (31%) in psychiatric wards, leading to incidences of 0.51, 0.39, and 1.10 per 1,000 patient days, respectively. In association with COVID-19, 16 (23%) in medicine, 3 (6%) in operative, and 1 (2%) patient in psychiatric wards deceased. Of the deceased patients, 16 (80%) had received at least one COVID-19 vaccine.

Hospital-acquired COVID-19 infections in omicron era were related to high mortality, especially among patients in medicine wards who also had good vaccination coverage.

To determine the rate of and factors associated with suboptimal discharge antimicrobial prescribing at a tertiary referral children’s hospital.

Retrospective cohort.

Tertiary referral children’s hospital.

All enteral antimicrobial discharge prescriptions at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford from January 1st, 2021 through December 31st, 2021.

All enteral discharge antimicrobials are routinely evaluated by our antimicrobial stewardship program within 48 hours of hospital discharge. Antimicrobials are determined to be optimal or suboptimal by an antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist after evaluating the prescribed choice of antimicrobial, dose, duration, dosing frequency, and formulation. The rate and factors associated with suboptimal antimicrobial discharge prescribing were evaluated.

Of 2,593 antimicrobial prescriptions ordered at discharge, 19.7% were suboptimal. Suboptimal prescriptions were due to incorrect duration (72.2%), dose (31.0%), dose frequency (23.3%), drug choice (6.5%), or formulation (5.7%). In total, 87.2% of antimicrobials for perioperative prophylaxis and 13.5% of treatment antimicrobials were suboptimal. Antimicrobials with the highest rate of suboptimal prescriptions were amoxicillin-clavulanate (40.7%), clindamycin (36.6%), and cephalexin (36.6%).

Suboptimal antimicrobial discharge prescriptions are common and present an opportunity for antimicrobial stewardship programs during hospital transition of care. Factors associated with suboptimal prescriptions differ by antimicrobial and prescribed indication, indicating that multiple stewardship interventions may be needed to improve prescribing.

To explore older adults’ and caregivers’ knowledge and perceptions of guidelines for appropriate antibiotics use for bacteria in the urine.

Semi-structured qualitative interviews.

Infectious disease clinics, community senior living facilities, memory care clinics, and general public.

Patients 65 years or older diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI) in the past two years, or caregivers of such patients.

We conducted interviews between March and July 2023. We developed an interview guide based on the COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation-behavior) behavior change framework. We thematically analyzed written transcripts of audio-recorded interviews using inductive and deductive coding techniques.

Thirty participants (21 patients, 9 caregivers) enrolled. Most participants understood UTI symptoms such as pain during urination and frequent urination. However, communication with multiple clinicians, misinformation, and unclear symptoms that overlapped with other health issues clouded their understanding of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) and UTIs. Some participants worried that clinicians would be dismissive of symptoms if they suggested a diagnosis of ASB without prescribing antibiotics. Many participants felt that the benefits of taking antibiotics for ASB outweighed harms, though some mentioned fears of personal antibiotic resistance if taking unnecessary antibiotics. No participants mentioned the public health impact of potential antibiotic resistance. Most participants trusted information from clinicians over brochures or websites but wanted to review information after clinical conversations.

Clinician-focused interventions to reduce antibiotic use for ASB should also address patient concerns during clinical visits, and provide standardized high-quality educational materials at the end of the visit.

Vancomycin therapy is associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). Previous studies suggest that area under the curve (AUC) monitoring reduces the risk of AKI, but literature is lacking to support this in patients receiving longer durations of vancomycin therapy.

Retrospective cohort study.

Patients ≥18 years old, admitted between August 2015 and July 2017 or October 2017 and September 2019, and received at least 14 days of intravenous (IV) vancomycin therapy were included in the study. Our primary outcome was the incidence of AKI between trough monitoring and AUC monitoring groups using Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality, median inpatient length of stay, and median intensive care unit length of stay.

Overall, 582 patients were included in the study, with 318 patients included in the trough monitoring group and 264 included in the AUC monitoring group. The median duration of vancomycin therapy was 23 days (interquartile range, 16–39). Patients within the trough monitoring group had a higher incidence of AKI compared to the AUC monitoring group (45.6% vs 28.4%, p < 0.001). Furthermore, logistic regression analysis showed that AUC monitoring was associated with a 54% lower incidence of AKI (OR 0.46, 95% CI [0.31–0.69]). All-cause inpatient mortality was numerically higher in the trough monitoring group (12.9% vs 8.3%, p = 0.078).

In patients who received at least 14 days of IV vancomycin therapy, AUC monitoring was associated with a lower incidence of AKI.

Antibiotic prescribing at hospital discharge is an important focus for antimicrobial stewardship efforts. This study set out to determine the impact of a pharmacist-led intervention at hospital discharge on appropriate antimicrobial prescribing.

This was a pre-/post-study evaluating the impact of a pharmacist-led review on antibiotic prescribing at hospital discharge. Pharmacists evaluated antibiotic prescriptions at discharge for appropriate duration, spectrum of activity, frequency, and strength of dose. Each of these criteria needed to be met for an antibiotic regimen to be considered appropriate.

Moses Cone Hospital is a 535-bed community teaching hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Patients ≥18 years of age discharged from the hospital with an antibiotic prescription were included. Exclusion criteria included patients discharged against medical advice, discharged to a skilled nursing facility, or prescribed indefinite prophylactic antimicrobial therapy.

A review of patients discharged with antibiotics in 2020 was performed. Patients discharged with antibiotic prescriptions from January 2021 to April 2022 were evaluated prior to discharge by pharmacists. The pharmacist made recommendations to providers based on their evaluations.

162 retrospective patients were screened, and 136 patients were screened at discharge from the hospital in the prospective cohort. 76/162 (47%) retrospective patients received appropriate antibiotic therapy at discharge, while 92/136 (68%) of prospective patients received appropriate discharge therapy (p = 0.001).

In this study examining the efficacy of stewardship pharmacist intervention at hospital discharge, pharmacist review and recommendations were associated with an increased rate of appropriate antimicrobial prescribing.

This study was conducted under the approval of the Institutional Review Board of the Moses H. Cone Health System. The approval protocol number was 1483117-1 and took effect on September 2nd, 2019. As the research was either retrospective in nature or part of the standard of care recommendations, the project was granted expedited review.

To evaluate rates of and outcomes associated with antibiotic overuse at hospital discharge for patients with common infectious diseases states.

Single-center, respective cohort study.

A large, academic medical center in the Midwest United States.

Adult patients who received antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), uncomplicated cystitis, or mild, non-purulent cellulitis. Patients were excluded if they did not receive antibiotic(s) upon hospital discharge, were pregnant, severely immunocompromised, had concomitant infections, died during hospitalization, or were transferred to another hospital or to an intensive care unit.

Data were abstracted from the electronic medical record of ambulatory antibiotic orders for included patients based on inpatient encounters from August 1, 2021 through July 31, 2022.

Of the 182 patients included in the study, antibiotic overuse was common for all three infectious disease states: CAP (n = 87/125, 69.6%), uncomplicated cystitis (n = 21/28, 75.0%), mild, non-purulent cellulitis (n = 28/29, 96.6%). The prevailing reason for overuse was excessive antibiotic duration (n = 127/182, 69.8%; mean antibiotic duration 5.39 vs. 8.32 days, p = 0.001). Antibiotic overuse was associated with approximately one additional day in the hospital (2.48 vs. 3.32 days, p = 0.001), and an increase in emergency department visits within 30 days after discharge (1 vs. 31, p = 0.001) compared to patients without antibiotic overuse at discharge.

Antibiotic overuse was prevalent upon hospital discharge for these three common infectious disease states. Transitions of care should be prioritized as an area for antimicrobial stewardship intervention.

To describe antimicrobial therapy used for multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter spp. bacteremia in Veterans and impacts on mortality.

This was a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized Veterans Affairs patients from 2012 to 2018 with a positive MDR Acinetobacter spp. blood culture who received antimicrobial treatment 2 days prior to through 5 days after the culture date. Only the first culture per patient was used. The association between treatment and patient characteristics was assessed using bivariate analyses. Multivariable logistic regression models examined the relationship between antibiotic regimen and in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year mortality. Generalized linear models were used to assess cost outcomes.

MDR Acinetobacter spp. was identified in 184 patients. Most cultures identified were Acinetobacter baumannii (90%), 3% were Acinetobacter lwoffii, and 7% were other Acinetobacter species. Penicillins—β-lactamase inhibitor combinations (51.1%) and carbapenems (51.6%)—were the most prescribed antibiotics. In unadjusted analysis, extended spectrum cephalosporins and penicillins—β-lactamase inhibitor combinations—were associated with a decreased odds of 30-day mortality but were insignificant after adjustment (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.47, 95% CI, 0.21–1.05, aOR = 0.75, 95% CI, 0.37–1.53). There was no association between combination therapy vs monotherapy and 30-day mortality (aOR = 1.55, 95% CI, 0.72–3.32).

In hospitalized Veterans with MDR Acinetobacter spp., none of the treatments were shown to be associated with in-hospital, 30-day, and 1-year mortality. Combination therapy was not associated with decreased mortality for MDR Acinetobacter spp. bacteremia.