Targeted provider and patient education on minimizing opioid use was associated with a reduction in MME on discharge from the hospital after traumatic injury.

Due to the inconsistent correlation of vancomycin trough concentrations with 24-hour area under the curve (AUC) and a desire to reduce rates of vancomycin-associated acute kidney injury, an institutional guideline was implemented by the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team in September 2017 to monitor vancomycin using AUC. Three stages were utilized to organize the process: preparation, implementation, and evaluation. The preparation stage was used to present literature to key stakeholders, and pharmacy meetings focused on the development of a dosing and monitoring guideline. Along with institution-wide education, the implementation stage included information technology development and support. The evaluation stage was comprised of quality improvement and clinical research. Future plans include dissemination of the results and analyses. Numerous lessons were learned due to barriers experienced during the process, but the transition was successful.

Vancomycin is a first-line agent used in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; however, vancomycin is associated with acute kidney injury (AKI). Previous literature demonstrates decreased incidence of AKI using 24-hour area under the concentration-time curve (AUC 24 ) monitoring, but its safety is unknown in obese populations. Patients ≥18 years, with Body Mass Indices (BMI) ≥30 kg/m 2 , admitted between August 2015-July 2017 or October 2017-September 2019, who received vancomycin for ≥72 hours and had level(s) drawn within 96 hours of initiation were included. The primary outcome was incidence of AKI. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality rate, median inpatient length of stay, median vancomycin trough concentration, and median vancomycin AUC 24 . AKI was identified using the highest serum creatinine value compared to the value immediately prior to vancomycin initiation based on Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. Overall, 1024 patients met inclusion criteria, with 142 out of 626 patients in the trough group and 65 out of 398 patients in the AUC 24 group meeting criteria for AKI (22.7% vs. 16.3%, p=0.008). Logistic regression of the data to account for confounding factors maintained significance for the reduction in incidence of AKI with AUC 24 monitoring compared to trough monitoring (p=0.010). Monitoring of vancomycin with AUC 24 was associated with a decreased risk of AKI when compared with trough monitoring in obese patients.

Background: Evidence suggests the standard vancomycin trough goal of 15 to 20 mg/L for serious Staphylococcus aureus infections is associated with acute kidney injury, whereas appropriate monitoring of 24-hour area under the curve (AUC) may decrease nephrotoxicity. As a result, institutions have transitioned to AUC monitoring, the predictive pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameter of vancomycin to improve safety outcomes. However, this method may require increased pharmacist time and effort. Pharmacist perception of the practice change is largely unknown and warrants investigation. Methods: An electronic survey was disseminated via e-mail to pharmacists 5 months post-AUC implementation. Items of interest were focused on pharmacist perception, including quantity of patients monitored using AUC, justification of the practice change, differences in efficacy and safety, and changes in monitoring time requirements. Results: The pharmacist survey was distributed to 196 pharmacists and 84 responded (43% response rate). Eighty-one pharmacists had monitored patients using AUC methods. Sixty-nine percent of these respondents perceived the change to result in increased or slightly increased patient safety, 27% described no difference, and 4% stated safety was decreased or slightly decreased. Forty-two percent perceived the transition to result in increased or slightly increased efficacy, while 48% noted no difference and 10% responded that efficacy was decreased or slightly decreased. Pharmacists stated the creation of an institutional calculator decreased the time required to calculate AUC. Conclusion: After the change to AUC monitoring, pharmacists perceived improvements in safety outcomes while efficacy was at least similar if not increased.

BackgroundIn many areas of the United States, substance use disorders (SUD) have increased dramatically over the past decade. Overdose deaths have increased as well, and Kentucky ranks among the nation’s leaders in deaths per 100,000 population. Infective endocarditis (IE) is a well-known complication of intravenous drug use, contributing to significant morbidity and mortality, but few studies have evaluated the effect of the current SUD epidemic on rates and demographics of IE. We sought to examine the trends in IE and IE with SUD at our institution.MethodsWe collected data from patients admitted to a large academic medical center in Kentucky between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2016. Patients were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision. Patients were considered to have IE if they received codes I33 or I38. Patients were considered to have an SUD if they received codes F11.10, F15.10, F14.10, F19.10, or Z86.59. Data were collected through the TriNetX database (TriNetX, Cambridge, MA).ResultsThere were 2,100 cases of IE during the study period. The mean (SD) age was 53 years (21). Of those, 440 also had an SUD. The mean (SD) age of these patients was 41 years (11). Patients in both the IE and IE/SUD categories were primarily male (54% and 55%) and white (94% and 94%). The number of cases of IE increased from 190 in 2013 to 430 in 2016 (R2 = 0.9877). The number of IE cases diagnosed as having an SUD increased from 30 (16% of all IE cases) in 2013 to 130 (30% of all IE cases) in 2016 (R2 = 0.7352 for the trend). This increase in cases corresponds to a 333% increase in the number of cases of IE with SUD.ConclusionBetween 2014 and 2016, opioid overdose deaths in Kentucky rose from 24.7 to 33.5 per 100,000 population, a 35.6% increase. During a similar timeframe, the number of IE cases associated with SUD at our institution rose 333%. While it is possible that increased coding of substance use disorders factored into this dramatic increase, it appears that the number of IE cases associated with SUD is rising at a disproportionately rapid rate.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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Objective: The objective of this study was to determine antibiotic appropriateness based on Loeb minimum criteria (LMC) in patients with and without altered mental status (AMS). Design: Retrospective, quasi-experimental study assessing pooled data from 3 periods pertaining to the implementation of a UTI management guideline. Setting: Academic medical center in Lexington, Kentucky. Patients: Adult patients aged ≥18 years with a collected urinalysis receiving antimicrobial therapy for a UTI indication. Methods: Appropriateness of UTI management was assessed in patients prior to an institutional UTI guideline, after guideline introduction and education, and after implementation of a prospective audit-and-feedback stewardship intervention from September to November 2017–2019. Patient data were pooled and compared between patients noted to have AMS versus those with classic UTI symptoms. Loeb minimum criteria were used to determine whether UTI diagnosis and treatment was warranted. Results: In total, 600 patients were included in the study. AMS was one of the most common indications for testing across the 3 periods (19%–30.5%). Among those with AMS, 25 patients (16.7%) met LMC, significantly less than the 151 points (33.6%) without AMS (P < .001). Conclusions: Patients with AMS are prescribed antibiotic therapy without symptoms indicative of UTI at a higher rate than those without AMS, according to LMC. Further antimicrobial stewardship efforts should focus on prescriber education and development of clearly defined criteria for patients with and without AMS.