BackgroundPenicillin allergy frequently impacts antibiotic choice. As beta-lactams are superior to vancomycin in treating methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia, we examined the effect of reported penicillin allergy on clinical outcomes in patients with MSSA bacteremia.MethodsIn this retrospective cohort study of adults with MSSA bacteremia admitted to a large tertiary care hospital, outcomes were examined according to reported penicillin allergy. Primary outcomes included 30-day and 90-day mortality rates. Multivariable regression models were developed to quantify the effect of reported penicillin allergy on mortality while adjusting for potential confounders.ResultsFrom 2010 to 2015, 318 patients with MSSA bacteremia were identified. Reported penicillin allergy had no significant effect on adjusted 30-day mortality (odds ratio [OR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.29–1.84; P = .51). Patients with reported penicillin allergy were more likely to receive vancomycin (38% vs 11%, P < .01), but a large number received cefazolin regardless of reported allergy (29 of 66, 44%). Mortality rates were highest among nonallergic patients receiving vancomycin (22.6% vs 7.4% for those receiving beta-lactams regardless of reported allergy, P < .01). In multivariable analysis, beta-lactam receipt was most strongly associated with survival (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.12–0.54).ConclusionsReported penicillin allergy had no significant effect on 30- or 90-day mortality. Non-penicillin-allergic patients receiving vancomycin for treatment of MSSA bacteremia had the highest mortality rates overall. Receipt of a beta-lactam was the strongest predictor of survival. These results underscore the importance of correct classification of patients with penicillin allergy and appropriate treatment with a beta-lactam when tolerated.

Objective:To assess the feasibility of electronic data capture of postdischarge durations and evaluate total durations of antimicrobial exposure related to inpatient hospital stays.Design:Multicenter, retrospective cohort study.Setting:Two community hospitals and 1 academic medical center.Patients:Hospitalized patients who received ≥1 dose of a systemic antimicrobial agent.Methods:We collected and reviewed electronic data on inpatient and discharge antimicrobial prescribing from April to September 2016 in 3 pilot hospitals. Inpatient antimicrobial use was obtained from electronic medication administration records. Postdischarge antimicrobial use was calculated from electronic discharge prescriptions. We completed a manual validation to evaluate the ability of electronic prescriptions to capture intended postdischarge antibiotics. Inpatient, postdischarge, and total lengths of therapy (LOT) per admission were calculated to assess durations of antimicrobial therapy attributed to hospitalization.Results:A total of 45,693 inpatient admissions were evaluated. Antimicrobials were given during 23,447 admissions (51%), and electronic discharge prescriptions were captured in 7,442 admissions (16%). Manual validation revealed incomplete data capture in scenarios in which prescribers avoided the electronic system. The postdischarge LOT among admissions with discharge antimicrobials was median 8 days (range, 1–360) with peaks at 5, 7, 10, and 14 days. Postdischarge days accounted for 38% of antimicrobial exposure days.Conclusion:Discharge antimicrobial therapy accounted for a large portion of antimicrobial exposure related to inpatient hospital stays. Discharge prescription data can feasibly be captured through electronic prescribing records and may aid in designing stewardship interventions at transitions of care.

Background Few groups have formally studied the effect of dedicated antibiotic stewardship rounds (ASRs) on antibiotic use (AU) in intensive care units (ICUs). Methods We implemented weekly ASRs using a two-arm, cluster-randomized, crossover study in 5 ICUs at Duke University Hospital from 11/2017 to 6/2018. We excluded patients without an active antibiotic order, or if they had a marker of high complexity including an existing infectious disease consult, transplant, ventricular assist device, or ECMO. AU during and following ICU stay for patients with ASRs was compared to the controls. We recorded the number of reviews, recommendations delivered, and responses. We evaluated change in ICU-specific AU during and after the study. Results Our analysis included 4,683 patients: 2330 intervention and 2353 controls. Teams performed 761 reviews during ASRs, which excluded 1569 patients: 60% of patients off antibiotics, and 8% complex patients. Exclusions affected 88% the cardiac surgery ICU (CTICU) patients. AU rate ratio (RR) was 0.97 (0.91-1.04). When CTICU was removed, the RR was 0.93 (0.89-0.98). AU in the post-study period decreased by 16% (95% CI 11-24%) compared to the AU in the baseline period. Change in AU was differential among units: largest in the neurology ICU (-28%) and smallest in the CTICU (-2%). Conclusion Weekly multi-disciplinary ASRs was a high-resource intervention associated with a small AU reduction. The noticeable ICU AU decline over time is possibly due to indirect effects of ASRs. Effects differed among specialty ICUs, emphasizing the importance of customizing ASRs to match unit-specific population, workflow, and culture.

While automatic ID consultation for inpatients with fungemia did not affect the time to administration of appropriate therapy, improvement was observed for several process indicators, including rates of appropriate antifungal therapy selection, time to removal of CVCs, and performance of ophthalmologic examinations.

IMPORTANCE Penicillin allergies are frequently mislabeled, which may contribute to use of lesspreferred alternative antibiotics. OBJECTIVE To evaluate a pharmacist-led allergy assessment program's association with antimicrobial use and clinical outcomes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A pharmacist-led allergy assessment program was launched in 2 phases (June 1, 2015, and November 2, 2016) at a single-center tertiary referral hospital. The longitudinal cross-sectional study included all study period adult admissions; hospitalwide outcomes were assessed by segmented regression. Individual outcomes were assessed within an embedded propensity score-matched case-control study of inpatients undergoing comprehensive allergy assessment following self-report of penicillin allergy. Analysis occurred from March 1, 2020, to February 29, 2020.EXPOSURES The longitudinal study analyzed hospital-level outcomes over 3 periods: preintervention (15 months), phase 1 (structured allergy history alone, 16 months), and phase 2 (comprehensive assessment including penicillin skin testing, 52 months). The case-control study defined cases as individuals undergoing comprehensive allergy assessment. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESHospital-level outcomes included antibiotic days of therapy per 1000 patient-days and hospital-acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) incidence per 10 000 patient-days. Individual outcomes included antibiotic selection, overall survival, and CDI-free survival.RESULTS Longitudinal analysis spanned 2014-2020 (median admissions, 46 416 per year; interquartile range [IQR], 46 001-50 091 per year). Hospitalwide, allergy histories were temporally associated with decreased use of nonpenicillin alternative antibiotics (rate ratio, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79-0.97) and high-CDI-risk antibiotics (rate ratio, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.85-0.98). Penicillin skin testing was temporally associated with lower hospital-acquired CDI rates (rate ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.43-0.86).The embedded case-control study included 272 cases and 819 controls. Median age was 63 years (interquartile range, 51-73 years), 553 (50.7%) patients were women, and 229 (21.0%) patients were Black. Allergy-assessed patients were less likely to receive high-CDI-risk antibiotics at discharge (odds ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.44-0.98). Estimated reductions in mortality (hazard ratio, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.55-1.07) and hospital-acquired CDI risk (hazard ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.18-1.55) were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEPharmacist-led allergy assessments may be associated with reduced high-CDI-risk antibiotic use at both hospitalwide and individual levels. Although individual (continued) Key Points Question Are pharmacist-led allergy assessments associated with improved antibiotic selection and reduced Clostridioides difficile infection rates? Findings In this longitudinal crosssectional study examining 46 416 admissions, allergy assessments and penicillin skin testing were temporally associated with reduced use of high Clostridioides difficile infection-risk a...