Key Points Question What are the mortality and readmission rates in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia discharged according to an expected practice approach with supplemental home oxygen? Findings In this cohort study of 621 patients with COVID-19 discharged with supplemental home oxygen from emergency department and inpatient encounters at 2 large urban medical centers, the all-cause mortality rate was 1.3% and the all-cause 30-day return hospital admission rate was 8.5%. No patients died in the ambulatory setting or in transit when returning to acute care setting. Meaning In this study, a careful and systematic expected practice approach to treatment of patients with COVID-19 using home oxygen was associated with low all-cause mortality and low 30-day return admission rates.

Background We sought to compare the outcomes of patients treated with intravenous (IV)-only vs. oral transitional antimicrobial therapy for infective endocarditis (IE) after implementing a new Expected Practice within The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LAC DHS). Methods We conducted a multi-centered, retrospective cohort study of adults with definite or possible IE treated with IV-only vs. oral therapy at the three acute care, public hospitals in the LAC DHS system between December 2018 to June 2022. The primary outcome was clinical success at 90 days, defined as being alive, and without recurrence of bacteremia or treatment-emergent infectious complications. Results We identified 257 patients with IE treated with IV-only (n=211) or oral transitional (n=46) therapy who met study inclusion criteria. Study arms were similar for many demographics; however, the IV cohort was older, and had more aortic valve involvement, hemodialysis patients, and central venous catheters present. In contrast, the oral cohort had a higher percentage of IE caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus. There was no significant difference between the groups in clinical success at 90 days or last follow-up. There was no difference in recurrence of bacteremia or readmission rates. However, patients treated with oral therapy had significantly fewer adverse events. Multivariable regression adjustments did not find significant associations between any selected variables and clinical success across treatment groups. Conclusions These results demonstrate similar outcomes of real-world use of oral vs. IV-only therapy for IE, in accord with prior randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses.

Objectives We sought to determine the comparative efficacy of fosfomycin vs. ertapenem for outpatient treatment of complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI). Methods We conducted a multi-centered, retrospective cohort study involving patients with cUTI treated with outpatient oral fosfomycin vs. intravenous ertapenem at three public hospitals in Los Angeles County between January 2018 and September 2020. The primary outcome was resolution of clinical symptoms 30 days after diagnosis. Results We identified 322 patients with cUTI treated with fosfomycin (n = 110) or ertapenem (n = 212) meeting study criteria. Study arms had similar demographics, although patients treated with ertapenem more frequently had pyelonephritis or bacteremia while fosfomycin-treated patients had more retained catheters, nephrolithiasis, or urinary obstruction. Most infections were due to extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae; 80-90% of which were resistant to other oral options. Adjusted odds ratios for clinical success at 30 days, clinical success at last follow up, and relapse were 1.21 (0.68 to 2.16), 0.84 (0.46 to 1.52), and 0.94 (0.52 to 1.70), for fosfomycin vs. ertapenem, respectively. Patients treated with fosfomycin had significant reductions in length of hospital stay and length of antimicrobial therapy, and fewer adverse events (1 vs. 10). Fosfomycin outcomes were similar irrespective of duration of lead-in IV therapy or fosfomycin dosing interval (daily, every other day, every third day). Conclusion These results would support the conduct of a randomized controlled trial to verify efficacy. In the meantime, they suggest fosfomycin may be a reasonable stepdown from IV antibiotics for cUTI.

Purpose: A primary cause of hospital readmission is medication-related problems (MRPs). Polypharmacy patients taking multiple medications concurrently experience an increased likelihood of MRPs and high occurrence of readmissions to the hospital within 30 days. This study assessed the ability of a pharmacist-led transition of care program to decrease readmissions in polypharmacy patients by evaluating and rectifying MRPs. Methods: Over 16 months, patients admitted onto the medicine ward service with $10 home medications (n 5 536) received medication management interventions from a clinical pharmacist including admission interview, medication reconciliation and consultation, and postdischarge phone follow-up. Admitted patients taking fewer than 10 home medications during the same time served as the control group and received routine standard of care (n 5 2317). Results: The polypharmacy group who received the pharmacist-led intervention had a statistically significantly lower 30-day readmission rate (8.8%) compared with patients in the control group (12.4%; X 2 5 5.63, p 5 .01). Patients receiving pharmacist intervention were 33% less likely to be readmitted within 30 days of discharge compared with the control group (odds ratio 5 0.67, 95% CI 5 0.49-0.94). All patients had at least one medication-related discrepancy. Conclusion: This pharmacy-led transition of care program can effectively reduce readmission rates through resolution of medication-related problems.