We analyzed antibiotic use data from 29 southeastern US hospitals over a 5-year period to determine changes in antibiotic use after the fluoroquinolone US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory update in 2016. Fluoroquinolone use declined both before and after the FDA announcement, and the use of select, alternative antibiotics increased after the announcement. Fluoroquinolones are among the 4 most commonly prescribed antibiotic classes. 1,2 Postmarketing reports of serious adverse events linked to fluoroquinolones include tendonitis, neuropathy, hypoglycemia, psychiatric side effects, and possible aortic vessel rupture, leading to safety label changes in , the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) strengthened the "black box" warning following an initial safety announcement in May 2016, recommending avoidance of fluoroquinolones for uncomplicated infections such as acute exacerbation of chronic bronchitis, uncomplicated urinary tract infections, and acute bacterial sinusitis. 4 Concerns over safety and the association with Clostridiodes difficile infection have led inpatient antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) to develop initiatives to promote avoidance of quinolones. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of the 2016 FDA "black box" update on inpatient antibiotic use among a cohort of southeastern US hospitals.

Executive summaryWe provide an overview of diagnostic stewardship with key concepts that include the diagnostic pathway and the multiple points where interventions can be implemented, strategies for interventions, the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration, and key microbiologic diagnostic tests that should be considered for diagnostic stewardship. The document focuses on microbiologic laboratory testing for adult and pediatric patients and is intended for a target audience of healthcare workers involved in diagnostic stewardship interventions and all workers affected by any step of the diagnostic pathway (ie, ordering, collecting, processing, reporting, and interpreting results of a diagnostic test). This document was developed by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Diagnostic Stewardship Taskforce.

Abstract Background Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) promote the principle of de-escalation: moving from broad to narrow spectrum agents and stopping antibiotics when no longer indicated. A standard, objective definition of de-escalation applied to electronic data could be useful for ASP assessments. Methods We derived an electronic definition of antibiotic de-escalation and performed a retrospective study among five hospitals. Antibiotics were ranked into 4 categories: narrow spectrum, broad spectrum, extended spectrum, and agents targeted for protection. Eligible adult patients were cared for on inpatient units, had antibiotic therapy for at least 2 days, and were hospitalized for at least 3 days after starting antibiotics. Number of antibiotics and rank were assessed at two time points: day of antibiotic initiation and either day of discharge or day 5. De-escalation was defined as reduction in either the number of antibiotics or rank. Escalation was an increase in either number or rank. Unchanged was either no change or discordant directions of change. We summarized outcomes among hospitals, units, and diagnoses. Results Among 39,226 eligible admissions, de-escalation occurred in 14,138 (36%), escalation in 5,129 (13%), and antibiotics were unchanged in 19,959 (51%). De-escalation varied among hospitals (median 37%, range 31-39%, p<.001). Diagnoses with lower de-escalation rates included intra-abdominal (23%) and skin and soft tissue (28%) infections. Critical care had higher rates of both de-escalation and escalation compared with wards. Conclusions Our electronic de-escalation metric demonstrated variation among hospitals, units, and diagnoses. This metric may be useful for assessing stewardship opportunities and impact.

Background Guidance on the recommended durations of antibiotic therapy, the use of oral antibiotic therapy, and the need for repeat blood cultures remain incomplete for gram-negative bloodstream infections. We convened a panel of infectious diseases specialists to develop a consensus definition of uncomplicated gram-negative bloodstream infections to assist clinicians with management decisions. Methods Panelists, who were all blinded to the identity of other members of the panel, used a modified Delphi technique to develop a list of statements describing preferred management approaches for uncomplicated gram-negative bloodstream infections. Panelists provided level of agreement and feedback on consensus statements generated and refined them from the first round of open-ended questions through 3 subsequent rounds. Results Thirteen infectious diseases specialists (7 physicians and 6 pharmacists) from across the United States participated in the consensus process. A definition of uncomplicated gram-negative bloodstream infection was developed. Considerations cited by panelists in determining if a bloodstream infection was uncomplicated included host immune status, response to therapy, organism identified, source of the bacteremia, and source control measures. For patients meeting this definition, panelists largely agreed that a duration of therapy of ~7 days, transitioning to oral antibiotic therapy, and forgoing repeat blood cultures, was reasonable. Conclusions In the absence of professional guidelines for the management of uncomplicated gram-negative bloodstream infections, the consensus statements developed by a panel of infectious diseases specialists can provide guidance to practitioners for a common clinical scenario.

Background Individual hospitals may lack expertise, data resources, and educational tools to support antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP). Methods We established a collaborative, consultative network focused on hospital ASP implementation. Services included on-site expert consultation, shared database for routine feedback and benchmarking, and educational programs. We performed a retrospective, longitudinal analysis of antimicrobial use (AU) in 17 hospitals that participated for at least 36 months during 2013–2018. ASP practice was assessed using structured interviews. Segmented regression estimated change in facility-wide AU after a 1-year assessment, planning, and intervention initiation period. Year 1 AU trend (1–12 months) and AU trend following the first year (13–42 months) were compared using relative rates (RR). Monthly AU rates were measured in days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient days for overall AU, specific agents, and agent groups. Results Analyzed data included over 2.5 million DOT and almost 3 million patient-days. Participating hospitals increased ASP-focused activities over time. Network-wide overall AU trends were flat during the first 12 months after network entry but decreased thereafter (RR month 42 vs month 13, 0.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: .91–.99). Large variation was seen in hospital-specific AU. Fluoroquinolone use was stable during year 1 and then dropped significantly. Other agent groups demonstrated a nonsignificant downward trajectory after year 1. Conclusions Network hospitals increased ASP activities and demonstrated decline in AU over a 42-month period. A collaborative, consultative network is a unique model in which hospitals can access ASP implementation expertise to support long-term program growth.

OBJECTIVETo determine the feasibility and value of developing a regional antibiogram for community hospitals.DESIGNMulticenter retrospective analysis of antibiograms.SETTING AND PARTICIPANTSA total of 20 community hospitals in central and eastern North Carolina and south central Virginia participated in this study.METHODSWe combined antibiogram data from participating hospitals for 13 clinically relevant gram-negative pathogen-antibiotic combinations. From this combined antibiogram, we developed a regional antibiogram based on the mean susceptibilities of the combined data.RESULTSWe combined a total of 69,778 bacterial isolates across 13 clinically relevant gram-negative pathogen-antibiotic combinations (median for each combination, 1100; range, 174-27,428). Across all pathogen-antibiotic combinations, 69% of local susceptibility rates fell within 1 SD of the regional mean susceptibility rate, and 97% of local susceptibilities fell within 2 SD of the regional mean susceptibility rate. No individual hospital had >1 pathogen-antibiotic combination with a local susceptibility rate >2 SD of the regional mean susceptibility rate. All hospitals' local susceptibility rates were within 2 SD of the regional mean susceptibility rate for low-prevalence pathogens (<500 isolates cumulative for the region).CONCLUSIONSSmall community hospitals frequently cannot develop an accurate antibiogram due to a paucity of local data. A regional antibiogram is likely to provide clinically useful information to community hospitals for low-prevalence pathogens.Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:718-722.

Background Provider-selected antibiotic indications are a measure to help track antibiotic use, and facilitate stewardship activities. International Classification of Diseases 10th version (ICD-10) codes have been widely used in the medical field for a variety of purposes, including billing for reimbursement, disease epidemiology, administration, and research. The ability of these codes to accurately describe the true disease diagnosis has been questioned. The purpose of this study is to provide insight into correlation between ICD-10 codes and provider-selected antibiotic indications recorded upon antibiotic order entry. Methods This multicenter, retrospective cohort study was performed using data from 17 hospitals in the DASON network. Antibiotic orders during calendar year 2019 for inpatients ≥ 18 years of age that included an indication for use were extracted from the DASON antimicrobial stewardship assessment portal. Orders with the antibiotic indication category of prophylaxis (medical or surgical) and other were excluded. The primary outcome was agreement between antibiotic indication and any discharge ICD-10 code from the same hospital admission. Secondary analyses stratified results by antibiotic and indication. Descriptive statistics were used to describe outcomes. Results A total of 246,999 unique antibiotic orders were identified in 180,109 admissions. After removing prophylaxis (n=75,124) and other (n=36,359), 135,516 orders were included. Most orders did not have an ICD-10 code matching the prescriber indication (92,237 [68%]). All indications except HEENT (18% mismatch) and genitourinary infections (46% mismatch) lacked a corresponding diagnosis code in more than 50% of cases (Table 1). Urinary tract infections (93%), bloodstream infections (90%), and central nervous system infections (80%) showed the highest rates of mismatch among indications (Table 1). Table 1: Correlation of ICD-10 Codes to Provider Selected Indications Conclusion We observed a high rate of mismatch between antibiotic indications and ICD-10 codes. Provider-selected antibiotic indications at the time of empiric treatment may be more reflective of diagnostic differential but is a poor indicator of ultimate patient diagnosis. Disclosures Rebekah W. Moehring, MD, MPH, Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (Grant/Research Support)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant/Research Support) Melissa D. Johnson, PharmD, MHS, Charles River Laboratories (Grant/Research Support)Cidara (Consultant)Merck & Co (Scientific Research Study Investigator)Paratek (Consultant)Scynexis (Scientific Research Study Investigator)Shionogi (Consultant)UpToDate (Other Financial or Material Support, Royalties)

BackgroundDASON is a 30-member, community hospital network in the southeastern United States that supports the development and growth of local antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs). Collaborative activities include on-site visits from liaison clinical pharmacists, data sharing for routine feedback and benchmarking, and educational programs.MethodsWe performed a retrospective cohort analysis of antibiotic use (AU) in 17 hospitals that participated in DASON for a minimum of 42 months during 2013–2018. Segmented negative binomial regression models were used to estimate the change in facility-wide AU after an initial 1-year assessment, planning, and ASP intervention initiation period. Baseline AU trend (1 to 12 months) was compared against AU following the first year (13 to 42 months). Monthly AU rates were measured in days of therapy (DOT) per 1,000 patient-days (pd). Models assessed overall AU and specific antibiotic groups, as defined by the National Healthcare Safety Network AU option. The models controlled for hospital size, presence of a pre-existing formal ASP upon network entry, and year of network entry.ResultsHospital data included a total of 2,988,930 pd over 5 years. Facility-wide AU was increasing during the first year of network entry and then began decreasing by 0.2% per month (P = 0.01, figure). Fluoroquinolone use was stagnant in year one and then decreased by 1.5% per month (P ≤ 0.001, figure). Antifungal agents were decreasing in year one and continued to decrease 0.7% per month thereafter (P = 0.03, figure). Agents predominantly used for resistant Gram-positive infections and broad-spectrum agents used for hospital-onset infections were increasing during year one and then attenuated afterward, though the slope change did not reach statistical significance. The presence of a pre-existing formal ASP was not a significant covariate in any model, while bed size and year of network entry significantly contributed to models of some antibiotic groups.ConclusionParticipation in DASON was associated with a decline in total AU and fluoroquinolone use, and a trend toward attenuated use of other broad-spectrum agents in community hospitals. Collaborative network experiences can help local ASPs achieve reductions in AU. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.