No abstract

Outpatient parenteral therapy in our academic ID clinic was a safe and effective alternative to home infusion or skilled nursing facilities for patients requiring long-term antibiotics with few adverse events and complications.

IMPORTANCEAlthough prescribers face numerous patient-centered challenges during transitions of care (TOC) at hospital discharge, prolonged duration of antimicrobial therapy for common infections remains problematic, and resources are needed for antimicrobial stewardship throughout this period.OBJECTIVE To evaluate a pharmacist-driven intervention designed to improve selection and duration of oral antimicrobial therapy prescribed at hospital discharge for common infections. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis quality improvement study used a nonrandomized stepped-wedge design with 3 study phases from September 1, 2018, to August 31, 2019. Seventeen distinct medicine, surgery, and specialty units from a health system in Southeast Michigan participated, including 1 academic tertiary hospital and 4 community hospitals. Hospitalized adults who had urinary, respiratory, skin and/or soft tissue, and intra-abdominal infections and were prescribed antimicrobials at discharge were included in the analysis. Data were analyzed from

IMPORTANCE Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are frequently used to deliver intravenous antimicrobial therapy. However, inappropriate PICC use may lead to patient harm. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether infectious disease physician approval prior to PICC placement for intravenous antimicrobials is associated with more appropriate device use and fewer complications.

Pharmacy generalists trained to comply with a systematic care bundle approach enhanced the quality of antimicrobial management.