Abstract. A retrospective study of seven patients referred to a spinal injury unit following surger y for thoracic disc prolapse is presented. Early diagnosis and increased awareness of the condition followed by lateral rhachotomy or anterolateral decompression is essential if the former dismal prognosis is to be improved.

No abstract

Background Bloodstream infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Prompt initiation of effective antimicrobials are essential to optimize patient outcomes. New diagnostic technologies rapidly identifying bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites in infections of various body sites. There is a paucity of literature determining if stewardship programs run by one trained pharmacist with rapid diagnostics decreases time to optimal antimicrobial therapy. Methods This was a retrospective chart review of positive bloodstream infections identified via rapid diagnostic technologies. The EHR of admitted adult patients with positive BSI identified by BioFire FilmArray Blood Culture Identification (BCID) Panel™ or Accelerate PhenoTest Blood Culture kit™2 between January 2018 – July 2019 were evaluated and pertinent data was collected. Results Rapid diagnostic technologies identified 108 bloodstream infections due to gram positive, 56 due to gram negative, and 6 due to Candida organisms. Mean time to optimal antimicrobial therapy was significantly lower when pharmacist recommendation was accepted versus when primary care team consulted ID for recommendation or did not accept pharmacist recommendation. Mean time to optimal therapy was 14.7, 34.3, and 271.3 hours (p< 0.0001) respectively. Median total cost of visit per patient, calculated using the average wholesale price of antibiotics multiplied by the number of doses received, was significantly lower when pharmacist recommendations were accepted (&86.40, &147.95, and &239.41, respectively). Baseline characteristics Microbiological isolates Primary Outcome: Time to Optimal Therapy Conclusion The establishment of a pharmacist run antimicrobial stewardship program in conjunction with rapid diagnostic tools for identifying bacteremia led to a decrease in time to optimal antimicrobial therapy and cost savings. Introduction of similar services at community hospitals with limited ASP staffing is justified. Larger studies to further investigate whether ASP partnered with rapid diagnostics have an impact on patient-related outcomes such as mortality and length of stay is warrented. Secondary outcomes Missed cost savings Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Background The renal transplant population is at increased risk of Nocardiosis due to impaired T-cell mediated immunity with immunosuppression. Pneumocystis jirovecii (PJP) prophylaxis with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX) provides coverage against Nocardia spp. unlike alternative agents such as atovaquone (ATQ), aerosolized pentamidine (AP), and dapsone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients receiving AP were transitioned to ATQ to avoid the use of nebulized medication. This, in turn, led to decreased use of TMP/SMX as patients on oral ATQ were not reassessed for the use of TMP/SMX as would have occurred while on AP. Additionally, an increased incidence of Nocardia infections was observed during this time. The objective of this study was to determine the association between the incidence of Nocardia infections and number of TMP/SMX prophylaxis-days in pre- versus COVID-19 cohorts. Methods This was a single center retrospective chart review of all renal transplant recipients between September 2018 – August 2019 (pre-COVID-19 cohort) and April 2020 – March 2021 (COVID-19 cohort). Patients were included if they were at least 18 years of age and a recipient of a cadaveric or living donor kidney transplant. Exclusion criteria included multi-organ transplant, pediatric patients, and repeat transplants. The primary outcome was incidence of Nocardiosis within the first 6 months post-transplant in the pre- and COVID-19 cohorts. Results A total of 218 patients were included (Table 1). Induction therapy and initial immunosuppression did not differ significantly between groups, nor did rates of rejection within 180 days of transplant (Table 2). Although the pre-COVID-19 cohort had a higher rate of neutropenia, there was no difference in median absolute lymphocyte count between the two groups. The COVID-19 cohort had a decreased percentage of TMP/SMX prophylaxis-days (59.2% vs. 72.5%, p < 0.0001) and an increased incidence of Nocardia infections in the first 6 months post-transplant (4% vs. 0%, p=0.0292). All 4 cases of Nocardia infections occurred in patients receiving ATQ. Conclusion The increased incidence of Nocardiosis was associated with a decreased use of TMP/SMX for PJP prophylaxis which may have been an unintended consequence of increased use of ATQ in lieu of AP during COVID-19. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures