193. Rapid Diagnostic Testing and Vancomycin Utilization for Contaminated Blood Cultures

Background

Bacteremia is a prevalent hospital acquired infection that affects nearly one in ten hospitalized patients. Rates of contaminated blood cultures have ranged from 0.6% to 6% in the literature. Vancomycin is often chosen as empiric coverage for gram positive organisms while awaiting bacterial identification. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of GenMark ePlex Blood Culture Identification Panel (BCID) implementation on the duration of vancomycin therapy for blood cultures contaminated with coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS).

Methods

A retrospective chart review was conducted on patients meeting inclusion criteria during a six month period prior to BCID implementation and post BCID implementation, from 03/01/2019 to 08/31/2019 and 03/01/2021 to 08/31/2021. The primary outcome analyzed was the duration of vancomycin therapy, in hours, in patients with a contaminated blood culture. Contaminated blood cultures was defined as a single blood culture growing CoNS. Secondary outcomes included hospital length of stay, readmission for treatment of contaminated blood cultures, and nephrotoxicity.

Results

This IRB-approved study included 190 patients, 75 in the pre-BCID group and 115 in the post-BCID group. The average duration of vancomycin therapy was 53.7 hours in the pre-BCID group and 20.5 hours in the post-BCID group (p = 0.04). Time to organism identification was reduced from 22.8 hours in the pre-BCID group to 12 hours in the post-BCID group (p = 0.5). Additionally, our study did not find a difference in nephrotoxicity, hospital length of stay, or readmissions between the two groups.

Conclusion

Following implementation of the GenMark ePlex Blood Culture Identification Panel (BCID), there was a reduction in both duration of vancomycin therapy and time to culture identification for blood cultures contaminated with CoNS. Rapid diagnostic testing is helpful in clinical decision-making and can lead to earlier discontinuation of empiric antibiotics, such as vancomycin.

Disclosures

All Authors: No reported disclosures.

An interprofessional approach to reducing hospital-onset Clostridioides difficile infections

BACKGROUND

Clostridioides difficile is the most prevalent hospital-onset (HO) infection. There are significant financial and safety impacts associated with HO-C. difficile infections (HO-CDIs) for both patients and health care organizations. The incidence of HO-CDIs at our community hospital within an academic acute health care system was continuously above the national benchmark.

METHODS

In response to the high HO-CDI rates at our facility, an interprofessional team selected evidence-based interventions with the goal of reducing HO-CDI incidence rates. Interventions included: diagnostic stewardship, enhanced environmental cleaning, antimicrobial stewardship and education and accountability.

RESULTS

After one year, we achieved a 63% reduction in HO-CDI and have sustained a 77% reduction. The infection rate remained below national benchmark for HO-CDI for over 4 years at a rate of 2.80 per 10,000 patient days and a SIR of 0.43 in 2020.

DISCUSSION

Multiple evidence-based interventions were successfully implemented over several service lines over a 4-year period through the collaboration of an interprofessional team. The addition of an accountability processes further improved compliance with standards of practice.

CONCLUSIONS

Collaboration of an interprofessional team led to substantial and sustained reductions in HO-CDI.

Reductions in inpatient fluoroquinolone use and postdischarge Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) from a systemwide antimicrobial stewardship intervention

Objective

To determine the impact of an inpatient stewardship intervention targeting fluoroquinolone use on inpatient and postdischarge Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI).

Design

We used an interrupted time series study design to evaluate the rate of hospital-onset CDI (HO-CDI), postdischarge CDI (PD-CDI) within 12 weeks, and inpatient fluoroquinolone use from 2 years prior to 1 year after a stewardship intervention.

Setting

An academic healthcare system with 4 hospitals.

Patients

All inpatients hospitalized between January 2017 and September 2020, excluding those discharged from locations caring for oncology, bone marrow transplant, or solid-organ transplant patients.

Intervention

Introduction of electronic order sets designed to reduce inpatient fluoroquinolone prescribing.

Results

Among 163,117 admissions, there were 683 cases of HO-CDI and 1,104 cases of PD-CDI. In the context of a 2% month-to-month decline starting in the preintervention period (P < .01), we observed a reduction in fluoroquinolone days of therapy per 1,000 patient days of 21% after the intervention (level change, P < .05). HO-CDI rates were stable throughout the study period. In contrast, we also detected a change in the trend of PD-CDI rates from a stable monthly rate in the preintervention period to a monthly decrease of 2.5% in the postintervention period (P < .01).

Conclusions

Our systemwide intervention reduced inpatient fluoroquinolone use immediately, but not HO-CDI. However, a downward trend in PD-CDI occurred. Relying on outcome measures limited to the inpatient setting may not reflect the full impact of inpatient stewardship efforts.