The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating post-acute and long-term care (PA/LTC). As geriatricians practicing in PA/LTC and a regional academic medical center, we created this program for collaboration between academic medical centers and regional PA/LTC facilities. The mission of the Geriatric Engagement and Resource Integration in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Facilities (GERI-PaL) program is to support optimal care of residents in PA/LTC facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 5 main components of our program: (1) Project ECHO; (2) nursing liaisons; (3) infection advisory consultation; (4) telemedicine consultation; and (5) resident social contact remote connections. Implementation of this program has had positive response from our local PA/LTC facilities. A key component of our program is our interprofessional team, which includes physicians and nursing, emergency response, and public health experts. With diverse professional backgrounds, our team members have created a new model for academic medical centers to collaborate with local PA/LTC facilities.

Purpose: The vulnerability of postacute and long-term care (PA/LTC) facility residents to COVID-19 has manifested across the world with increasing facility outbreaks associated with high hospitalization and mortality rates. Systematic protocols to guide telehealth-centered interventions in response to COVID-19 outbreaks have yet to be delineated. This article is intended to inform PA/LTC facilities and neighboring health care partners how to collaboratively utilize telehealth-centered strategies to improve outcomes in facility outbreaks. Methods: The University of Virginia rapidly developed a multidisciplinary telehealth-centered COVID-19 facility outbreak strategy in response to a LTC facility outbreak in which 41 (out of 48) facility residents and 7 staff members tested positive. This strategy focused on supporting the facility team remotely using rapidly deployed technologic solutions. Goals included (1) early identification of patients who need their care escalated, (2) monitoring and treating patients deemed safe to remain in the facility, (3) care coordination to facilitate bidirectional transfers between the skilled nursing facility (SNF) and hospital, and (4) daily facility needs assessment related to technology, infection control, and staff well-being. To achieve these goals, a standardized approach centered on daily multidisciplinary virtual rounds and telemedicine consultation was provided. Results: Over a month since the outbreak began, 18 out of 48 (38%) facility residents required hospitalization and 6 (12.5%) died. Eleven facility residents have since returned back to the SNF after recovering from their hospitalization. No staff required hospitalization. Conclusions: Interventions that reduce hospitalizations and mortality are a critical need during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mortality and hospitalization rates seen in this PA/LTC facility outbreak are significantly lower than has been documented in other facility outbreaks. Our multidisciplinary approach centered on telemedicine should be considered as other PA/LTC facilities partner with neighboring health care systems in responding to COVID-19 outbreaks. We have begun replicating these services to additional PA/LTC facilities facing COVID-19 outbreaks.

Probiotics are a promising adjunct therapy for treatment of an initial CDI and should be further explored in a larger randomized controlled trial.

Specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocols were used to determine the prevalence of toxigenic Clostridium difficile in Vhembe, South Africa. Of 322 stool samples collected, toxigenic C. difficile was found in 23 (7.1%) cases and was significantly associated with diarrhea 20 (11.4%) compared with 3 (2%) in non-diarrheal samples (chi(2) = 426, P = 0.001), intestinal inflammation in 18 (12.1%) compared with 5 (2.9%) in lactoferrin-negative samples (chi(2) = 10.194, P = 0.001), and occult blood in 19 (16%) compared with 4 (2%) in occult blood-negative samples (chi(2) = 22.157, P < 0.001). Toxigenic C. difficile was more common among individuals > 50 years of age (20%), followed by those between 30 and 39 years of age (19%) and was not associated with HIV infections (chi(2) = 0.289, P = 0.591). Co-infection with other pathogens was common. Multivariate analysis indicated that toxigenic C. difficile was associated with E. bieneusi (P = 0.028), C. parvum (P = 0.007), and Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) (P = 0.007) in diarrheal samples. This study confirms the usefulness of PCR methodologies in the detection of toxigenic C. difficile and suggests that C. difficile is responsible for a small, but underappreciated, proportion of diarrheal cases in the region, and further study is warranted in this area.

Preventing influenza infections is a national health priority, particularly among geriatric and adults with frailty who reside in post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) settings. Older adults account for more than 70% of deaths from influenza, a reflection of decreased vaccine effectiveness in that age group. Annually vaccinating health care personnel (HCP) working with these patients against influenza is critical to reducing influenza morbidity and mortality among patients. PALTC HCP have the lowest influenza vaccination rate when compared to HCP in other settings. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends that all HCP receive an annual influenza vaccination, including those who do not have direct patient care responsibilities. Here, we discuss the importance of influenza vaccination for HCP, detail recommendations for influenza vaccination practice and procedures for PALTC settings, and offer support to PALTC settings and their staff on influenza vaccinations.

Background Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) severity has increased, especially among hospitalized elderly. We evaluated clinical factors to predict mortality following CDI. Methods We collected data from inpatients diagnosed with CDI at US academic medical center (HSR-IRB# 13630). We evaluated age, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), admission from a long-term care facility (LTCF), intensive care unit (ICU) at time of diagnosis, white blood cell count (WBC), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), low body mass index (BMI), and delirium as possible predictors. A parsimonious predictive model was chosen using Akaike information criterion (AIC) and a best subsets model selection algorithm. Area under the ROC curve was used to assess the model’s comparative; with AIC as selection criterion for all subsets to measure fit and control for over-fitting. Results From 362 subjects, the selected model included CCI, WBC, BUN, ICU, and delirium. The logistic regression coefficients were converted to a points scale and calibrated so that each unit on the CCI contributed 2 points, ICU contributed 5, unit of WBC (natural log scale) contributed 3, unit of BUN contributed 5, and delirium contributed 11. Discussion Our model shows substantial ability to predict short term mortality in patients hospitalized with CDI. Conclusion Patients who were diagnosed in the ICU and developed delirium are at highest risk for dying within 30 days of CDI diagnosis.

Introduction-Long-term care facilities (LTCF) residents have been estimated to have the highest incidence of diarrheal illness among adults living in the developed world. This study describes undiagnosed diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, and Clostridium difficile colonization in a LTC population and explores whether these are associated with functional decline, as defined by weight loss or a change in cognitive or ADL status.

We evaluated clinical and diagnostic indicators of severe C. difficile infection (CDI) and their association with poor clinical outcome. A total of 210 patients positive according to PCR (toxin B: tcdB) were included, with patients having a median age of 62 years and a Charlson co-morbidity index (CI) score of 5. Ninety-one percent (n = 191) were positive by toxigenic culture and 61 % (n = 129) had stool toxin. Toxin-positive patients had significantly higher fecal lactoferrin (mean 316 μg/g versus 106 μg/g stool; p < 0.0001). Forty percent of patients (n = 85) were infected with ribotype 027 and significantly more of these patients had measurable stool toxin (79 % vs. 50 %; p < 0.0001). The mean fecal lactoferrin was significantly higher for toxin-positive 027 CDI compared with the 027 toxin-negative group (317 vs 60 μg/g; p = 0.0014). Ribotype 027 CDI with stool toxin showed a higher all-cause, 100-day mortality compared with non-027 with stool toxin (36 % vs 18 %; p = 0.017). Logistic regression univariate analysis for odds ratio (OR) and p values revealed that age (OR = 1.1), intensive care unit treatment (OR = 2.7), CI (OR = 1.2), 027 CDI (OR = 2.1), white blood cell count (OR = 1.0), albumin level (OR = 0.1), and stool toxin-positive 027 CDI (OR = 2.5) were significantly associated with 100-day mortality (p < 0.05). In conclusion, CDI PCR-positive patients with 027 infection and stool toxin have increased lactoferrin and are at an increased risk of death.