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The 2020 Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease report indicates that the blood biomarker procalcitonin (PCT) may assist in decision-making regarding the initiation of antibiotics for chronic obstructive pulmonary Digital Features To view digital features for this article, go to https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare. 12582098.

Background Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is an important modifiable risk factor for antibiotic resistance. Approximately half of all antibiotics prescribed for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in the United States may be inappropriate or unnecessary. The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to evaluate the effect of three consecutive interventions on improving antibiotic prescribing for ARIs (i.e., pharyngitis, rhinosinusitis, bronchitis, common cold). Methods This was a pre-post analysis of an antimicrobial stewardship QI initiative to improve antibiotic prescribing for ARIs in six Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care clinics. Three distinct intervention phases occurred. Educational interventions included training on appropriate antibiotic prescribing for ARIs. During the first intervention period (8/2017-1/2019), education was presented virtually to primary care providers on a single occasion. In the second intervention period (2/2019-10/2019), in-person education with peer comparison was presented on a single occasion. In the third intervention period (11/2019-4/2020), education and prescribing feedback with peer comparison was presented once in-person followed by monthly emails of prescribing feedback with peer comparison. January 2016-July 2017 was used as a pre-intervention baseline period. The primary outcome was the antibiotic prescribing rate for all classifications of ARIs. Secondary outcomes included adherence to antibiotic prescribing guidance for pharyngitis and rhinosinusitis. Descriptive statistics and interrupted time series segmented regression were used to analyze the outcomes. Results Monthly antibiotic prescribing peer comparison emails in combination with in-person education was associated with a statistically significant 12.5% reduction in the rate of antibiotic prescribing for ARIs (p=0.0019). When provider education alone was used, the reduction in antibiotic prescribing was nonsignificant. Conclusion Education alone does not significantly reduce antibiotic prescribing for ARIs, regardless of the delivery mode. In contrast, education followed by monthly prescribing feedback with peer comparison was associated with a statistically significant reduction in ARI antibiotic prescribing rates. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

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BackgroundA negative nasal MRSA PCR test has a 98–99.6% sensitivity in confirming that MRSA is not the causative organism associated with pneumonia in hospitalized patients. Evidence supporting the clinical utility of nasal MRSA PCR testing in the Veteran patient population is limited, with no identified publications to date. The purpose of this project was to share outcomes associated with implementation of nasal MRSA PCR testing in the Veteran population to guide duration of vancomycin therapy.MethodsThis retrospective cohort quality initiative compared treatment of pneumonia that included vancomycin during a pre-Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) intervention phase (August 2013–February 2014) to an active ASP intervention phase (August 2017–March 2019). ASP intervention consisted of utilization of a negative nasal MRSA PCR as a rapid diagnostic test to support discontinuation of vancomycin prior to microbiologic culture results. Retrospective chart review evaluated vancomycin days of therapy (DOT), hospital length-of-stay (LOS), 30-day hospital readmission, and 30-day mortality. Patients admitted to the intensive care unit during the identified hospitalization were excluded.ResultsThe average vancomycin DOT significantly declined by 1.08 days when comparing the pre-ASP intervention phase (N = 25) to the ASP-intervention phase (N = 47) (3.6 vs. 2.52 days, respectively; P = 0.0088). Mean hospital LOS decreased by 1.5 days (6.04 vs. 4.54 days, respectively, P = 0.0885). There was no significant difference in 30-day hospital readmission rate (12% vs. 8.5%) or 30-day mortality rate (12% vs. 10%).ConclusionVancomycin DOT was reduced by 30% (1.08 days) and hospital LOS was reduced by 24.8% (1.5 days) in patients with pneumonia during a Vet. Affairs medical center’s utilization of negative nasal MRSA PCR testing to support vancomycin discontinuation. This project highlights the role of nasal MRSA PCR as a rapid diagnostic test to aid in diminishing empiric vancomycin usage and its associated toxicities. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.