Abstract
Background
Overutilization of antibiotics remains an issue in the inpatient setting. What is more, many protocols geared toward curbing improper antibiotic use rely heavily on resource- and personnel-intensive interventions. Thus, the potential for using the EMR to facilitate antibiotic stewardship remains largely unexplored.
Methods
We implemented a novel change for ordering certain antibiotics in our EMR: ceftriaxone, daptomycin, ertapenem, imipenem, meropenem, and piperacillin-tazobactam. When ordering one of these antibiotics, providers had to note a usage indication, which assigned a usage duration as per our Antibiotic Stewardship Committee guidelines. Pre-intervention, manual discontinuation was required if a provider did not enter a duration. The intervention was enacted August 2019 in 13 hospitals. Data was collected from January 2018 to February 2020. Antibiotic usage was reported monthly as rate per 1000-patient days. Monthly pre- and post-intervention rates were averaged, respectively. Paired samples t-tests were used to compare pre- and post-intervention rates per unit type per hospital. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Units with minimal usage, as defined by a pre- or post-intervention mean of 0, were excluded from analysis.
Example of Ordering an Antibiotic Prior to Intervention
Example of Ordering an Antibiotic After Intervention
Results
Ertapenem was noted to have a statistically significant decrease in utilization in seven units at three hospitals. Piperacillin-tazobactam was found to have a decrease in utilization in 19 units at eight hospitals. Daptomycin was found to have a decrease in utilization in one unit. Significant decreases in the utilization of ceftriaxone, imipenem, and meropenem were not noted.
Example of Statistically Significant Decreased Utilization in Piperacillin-Tazobactam on a Medical-Surglcal Unit
Conclusion
Our study showed a statistically significant decrease in use of ertapenem, piperacillin-tazobactam and daptomycin using a simple built-in EMR prompt that curtails provider error. This should allow for an increased ease of integration, as the protocol does not require a host of resources for maintenance. Of note is decreased utilization of piperacillin-tazobactam and ertapenem across multiple hospitals, most notably on the medical and surgical wards. Thus, usage of the EMR without personnel-intensive protocols is a viable method for augmenting antibiotic stewardship in health systems.
Disclosures
All Authors: No reported disclosures
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