Purpose To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a pharmacist‐managed protocol for transitioning critically ill patients from intravenous (iv) to subcutaneous insulin compared with a provider‐managed process. Methods This single‐center, retrospective, observational study included patients admitted to the medical or surgical/trauma intensive care unit who received a continuous infusion of iv insulin from January 2019 to April 2021. Patients were excluded if they were less than 18 years of age, pregnant, incarcerated, or received iv insulin for the diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state, calcium channel blocker or beta blocker overdose, or hypertriglyceridemia. The primary outcome was the percentage of blood glucose (BG) concentrations within the target range of 70–150 mg/dL from 0 to 48 h following transition to subcutaneous insulin. Secondary outcomes included percentage of BG concentrations within goal range following transition at 0–12 h and 12–24 h, incidence of hypo‐ and hyperglycemia, and percentage of patients requiring dose adjustments after initial transition. Results A total of 110 unique patients were included with 70 patients in the provider‐managed group and 40 patients in the pharmacist‐managed group. On average, pharmacists transitioned patients to 63% basal insulin based on their 24‐h total day dose of insulin. The pharmacist‐managed group achieved glycemic control in 53% of transitions at 12 h, 40% at 24 h, and 47% from 0 to 48 h, while the provider group achieved glycemic control in 25% of transitions at 12 h, 12% at 24 h, and 18% from 0 to 48 h (p < 0.001 for all time points). As for safety end points, the pharmacist‐managed group demonstrated lower rates of hypoglycemia (p = 0.001), severe hypoglycemia (p = 0.332), hyperglycemia (p < 0.001), and severe hyperglycemia (p < 0.001) compared with the provider‐managed group. Conclusions Pharmacists can effectively and safely transition critically ill patients from iv to subcutaneous insulin utilizing a standardized protocol.

Background In an ideal state, the stewardship of antimicrobial agents would happen at the point of order entry. In June 2018, Eskenazi Health implemented a series of clinical decision support tools in the electronic health record (EHR), including required fields on all inpatient antimicrobial orders for indication, type of therapy (empiric or definitive), and duration. When empiric therapy is selected, providers receive a Best Practice Advisory (BPA) at 48 hours to re-evaluate therapy. Additionally, a side bar table was added to all antimicrobials orders that included drug-specific duration of therapy recommendations for common indications. Methods This is a single-center, retrospective, observational chart review that includes adult inpatients prescribed antibiotics for the treatment of CAP or UTI from July 2017 to December 2018. The primary outcome is the overall length of therapy between pre- and post-intervention groups for CAP and UTI. Secondary outcomes include duration of empiric/broad-spectrum therapy, duration of definitive therapy, time to de-escalation, length of hospital stay, C. difficile infections, 30-day readmission, and cost of antimicrobial therapy. Results A total of 541 orders were included for analysis. The composite overall duration of therapy decreased from 7 days to 5 days in the post-intervention group (p&lt; 0.001). For CAP, the duration of therapy (5 days) was not different between groups. For UTI, the duration of therapy decreased from 11 days to 7 days in the post-intervention group (p&lt; 0.001). The duration of empiric therapy decreased from 3 days to 2 days (p&lt; 0.001) and the duration of definitive therapy decreased from 4 days to 3 days (p&lt; 0.001). There was a 1 day longer length of stay for patients in the post-intervention group (p=0.038); however, there was a lower 30-day readmission rate in the post-intervention group (p=0.003). The rate of hospital-acquired C. difficile infections did not differ between groups (p=1.000). It was found that action was taken from the BPA 55.4% of the time after implementation. Conclusion The duration of therapy overall was shortened by 2 days, which was driven by the difference in duration for UTI. Incorporating antimicrobial stewardship principles at the point of order entry can result in fewer days of unnecessary therapy. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.

Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a pharmacist-managed protocol for transitioning critically ill patients from intravenous (IV) to subcutaneous insulin. Methods This single-center, retrospective, observational study included patients admitted to the medical or surgical/trauma intensive care unit who received a continuous infusion of IV insulin from January 2019 to April 2021. Patients were excluded if they were less than 18 years old, pregnant, or incarcerated or received IV insulin for the diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state, calcium channel blocker or β-blocker overdose, or hypertriglyceridemia. The primary outcome was to evaluate the percentage of blood glucose (BG) concentrations within the target range of 70 to 150 mg/dL within 48 hours of the transition to subcutaneous insulin. Secondary outcomes included the percentage of BG concentrations within the goal range following transition at 0 to 12 hours and 12 to 24 hours, the incidence of hypo- and hyperglycemia, and the percentage of patients requiring dose adjustments after the initial transition. Results Pharmacists were able to achieve BG concentrations in the target range for 53% of transitions at 12 hours, 40% of transitions at 24 hours, and 47% of transitions at 48 hours. With respect to safety endpoints, the pharmacist-managed group had a low rate of hypoglycemia (1.0%) and no severe hypoglycemia. Hyperglycemia was reported for 28% of BG concentrations while severe hyperglycemia was reported for 27%. Pharmacists transitioned patients to an average of 63% of the 24-hour total daily dose of insulin as basal insulin. Conclusion Pharmacists can effectively and safely transition critically ill patients from IV to subcutaneous insulin utilizing a standardized protocol.

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