OBJECTIVE Although prior authorization and prospective audit with feedback are both effective antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) strategies, the relative impact of these approaches remains unclear. We compared these core ASP strategies at an academic medical center. DESIGN Quasi-experimental study. METHODS We compared antimicrobial use during the 24 months before and after implementation of an ASP strategy change. The ASP used prior authorization alone during the preintervention period, June 2007 through May 2009. In June 2009, many antimicrobials were unrestricted and prospective audit was implemented for cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, and vancomycin, marking the start of the postintervention period, July 2009 through June 2011. All adult inpatients who received more than or equal to 1 dose of an antimicrobial were included. The primary end point was antimicrobial consumption in days of therapy per 1,000 patient-days (DOT/1,000-PD). Secondary end points included length of stay (LOS). RESULTS In total, 55,336 patients were included (29,660 preintervention and 25,676 postintervention). During the preintervention period, both total systemic antimicrobial use (−9.75 DOT/1,000-PD per month) and broad-spectrum anti-gram-negative antimicrobial use (−4.00 DOT/1,000-PD) declined. After the introduction of prospective audit with feedback, however, both total antimicrobial use (+9.65 DOT/1,000-PD per month; P < .001) and broad-spectrum anti-gram-negative antimicrobial use (+4.80 DOT/1,000-PD per month; P < .001) increased significantly. Use of cefepime and piperacillin/tazobactam both significantly increased after the intervention (P = .03). Hospital LOS and LOS after first antimicrobial dose also significantly increased after the intervention (P = .016 and .004, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Significant increases in antimicrobial consumption and LOS were observed after the change in ASP strategy.

Background Many hospitalized patients with complicated infections are discharged on outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT). However, little is known about how to improve the postdischarge care of OPAT patients. Objective The impact of an infectious diseases transitions service (IDTS) on OPAT patient readmissions, as well as on processes of care, was evaluated. Methods We performed a controlled, quasi-experimental evaluation over 15 months in an academic medical center. Intervention-arm patients, before and after the introduction of an IDTS, were seen by the general infectious diseases consult teams, while control-arm patients (discharged on OPAT after hospitalization with bacteremia) were not. The IDTS prospectively tracked all OPAT patients and coordinated follow-up. The impact of the IDTS was calculated using a differences-in-differences approach where the interaction between time (before vs after the IDTS intervention) and study arm (intervention vs control arm) was the variable of interest. The control arm was used only in primary outcome analyses (readmissions and emergency department visits). Secondary outcomes included process of care measures and non-readmission clinical outcomes. Results Of 488 consecutive patients requiring OPAT, 362 were in the intervention arm (215 pre-intervention and 147 post-intervention) and 126 in the control arm (70 pre-intervention and 56 post-intervention). Compared to the control arm, the IDTS was not associated with changes in 60-day readmissions and/or emergency department visits (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.13–1.79). In the intervention arm, implementation of the IDTS was associated with fewer antimicrobial therapy errors (OR = 0.062; 95% CI = 0.015–0.262), increased laboratory test receipt (OR = 27.85; 95% CI = 12.93–59.99), and improved outpatient follow-up (OR = 2.44; 95% CI = 1.50–3.97). Conclusions In a controlled evaluation, the IDTS did not affect readmissions despite improving process of care measures for targeted patients. Care coordination services may improve OPAT quality of care, but their relationship to readmissions is unclear.

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We conducted a retrospective study of the appropriateness of antimicrobial agents prescribed on discharge from an acute care hospital. Seventy percent of discharge antibiotics were inappropriate in antibiotic drug choice, dose, or duration. Our findings suggest there is a significant need for antimicrobial stewardship at transitions in care. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:353-355.

Donor-derived infections with multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria are associated with poor outcomes, in part due to limited treatment options. Here we describe a case of donor-derived, disseminated infection with colistin-resistant, carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in a liver transplant recipient that was cured with addition of intravenous fosfomycin to a multidrug regimen, in conjunction with aggressive surgical source control. Intravenous fosfomycin represents a promising adjunctive agent for use in treatment of extensively drug-resistant infections in immunocompromised hosts.