Appropriateness of Antibiotic Prescribing in Patients Discharged From a Community Hospital Emergency Department

IMPORTANCE: Every year, thousands of emergency department (ED) visits result in patients being discharged with oral antibiotic prescriptions. Published studies that assess the appropriateness of these antibiotic regimens are limited. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions written for patients discharged from a community hospital’s ED. ENDPOINTS: The primary objective was to determine the overall percent of appropriate antibiotic prescriptions for patients discharged from the ED. Secondary objectives included the following: identify reasons for inappropriateness categorized by antibiotic selection, dose, duration, and allergies; identify the most common antibiotics prescribed inappropriately as well as the most common disease states that led to inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics; and analyze prescribing trends based on provider type and time of day the prescription was written. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients eligible for inclusion were adults age 18 and older who presented to the ED during four chosen weeks in 2019 and who were discharged with oral antibiotics. Extracted electronic health record data was reviewed to identify the discharge diagnosis for each patient that meets the inclusion criteria. Pertinent information gathered from the patients’ medical records along with a validated antimicrobial assessment tool were utilized to determine the level of appropriateness of the prescribed antibiotic regimens. RESULTS: A total of 76% of the prescribed antibiotics were appropriate, 16% were inappropriate, and the remaining 8% were not assessable. Duration was the most common reason for a regimen to not be optimal. The most frequently inappropriately prescribed antibiotics included cephalexin (but it is noted cephalexin was included in almost half of the antibiotic regimens in this study), clindamycin, and azithromycin. Infections that were most frequently treated inappropriately were skin and soft tissue infections, dental infections, and sinusitis. Overall, medical residents prescribed the highest percent of appropriate regimens, and the time of day that had the highest percent of appropriate prescriptions was third shift (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.). CONCLUSION AND RELEVANCE: Almost half of all the nonoptimal antibiotic regimens had an excessive duration. Targeted local education efforts and future clinical decision support can facilitate appropriate prescribing of discharge antibiotics from the ED, ultimately improving antimicrobial stewardship within the community.

Primary care doctor and nurse consultations among people who live in slums: a retrospective, cross-sectional survey in four countries

ObjectivesTo survey on the availability and use of primary care services in slum populations.DesignRetrospective, cross-sectional, household, individual and healthcare provider surveys.SettingSeven slum sites in four countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Pakistan and Bangladesh).ParticipantsResidents of slums and informal settlements.Primary and secondary outcome measuresPrimary care consultation rates by type of provider and facility.ResultsWe completed 7692 household, 7451 individual adult and 2633 individual child surveys across seven sites. The majority of consultations were to doctors/nurses (in clinics or hospitals) and pharmacies rather than single-handed providers or traditional healers. Consultation rates with a doctor or nurse varied from 0.2 to 1.5 visits per person-year, which was higher than visit rates to any other type of provider in all sites except Bangladesh, where pharmacies predominated. Approximately half the doctor/nurse visits were in hospital outpatient departments and most of the remainder were to clinics. Over 90% of visits across all sites were for acute symptoms rather than chronic disease. Median travel times were between 15 and 45 min and the median cost per visit was between 2% and 10% of a household’s monthly total expenditure. Medicines comprised most of the cost. More respondents reported proximity (54%–78%) and service quality (31%–95%) being a reason for choosing a provider than fees (23%–43%). Demand was relatively inelastic with respect to both price of consultation and travel time.ConclusionsPeople in slums tend to live sufficiently close to formal doctor/nurse facilities for their health-seeking behaviour to be influenced by preference for provider type over distance and cost. However, costs, especially for medicines are high in relation to income and use rates remain significantly below those of high-income countries.

Variability in endoscopic assessment of Nissen fundoplication wrap integrity and hiatus herniation

Summary Background Upper endoscopy (EGD) is frequently performed in patients with esophageal complaints following anti-reflux surgery such as fundoplication. Endoscopic evaluation of fundoplication wrap integrity can be challenging. Our primary aim in this pilot study was to evaluate the accuracy and confidence of assessing Nissen fundoplication integrity and hiatus herniation among gastroenterology (GI) fellows, subspecialists, and foregut surgeons. Methods Five variations of post-Nissen fundoplication anatomy were included in a survey of 20 sets of EGD images that was completed by GI fellows, general GI attendings, esophagologists, and foregut surgeons. Accuracy, diagnostic confidence, and inter-rater agreement across providers were evaluated. Results There were 31 respondents in the final cohort. Confidence in pre-survey diagnostics significantly differed by provider type (mean confidence out of 5 was 1.8 for GI fellows, 2.7 for general GI attendings, 3.6 for esophagologists, and 3.6 for foregut surgeons, P = 0.01). The mean overall accuracy was 45.9%, which significantly differed by provider type with the lowest rate among GI fellows (37%) and highest among esophagologists (53%; P = 0.01). The accuracy was highest among esophagologists across all wrap integrity variations. Inter-rater agreement was low across wrap integrity variations (Krippendorf’s alpha <0.30), indicating low to no agreement between providers. Conclusion In this multi-center survey study, GI fellows had the lowest accuracy and confidence in assessing EGD images after Nissen fundoplication, whereas esophagologists had the highest. Diagnostic confidence varied considerably and inter-rater agreement was poor. These findings suggest experience may improve confidence, but highlight the need to improve the evaluation of fundoplication wraps.

Age of First Oral Health Examination and Dental Treatment Needs of Medicaid-Enrolled Children

Introduction: Early childhood caries (ECC), despite being preventable, remains the most prevalent disease of childhood, particularly in children between the ages of 2 and 5 y. The association between the type of health care provider completing initial oral health examinations and subsequent dental caries in children under 6 y of age is unclear. Objective: The objective of the current study is to longitudinally assess the association between age at first oral health examination and provider type at first oral health examination on dental treatment for children under 6 y of age. Methods: Deidentified administrative claims data were used from the IBM Marketscan Multi-State Medicaid Database (n = 2.41 million Medicaid-enrolled children younger than 6 y in 13 states from 2012 to 2017). A Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to examine the association between age at first oral health examination and provider type with first treatment of dental caries at follow-up. Results: The adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of dental caries for children whose first oral health examination at 4 y of age is 5.425 times higher than for children whose first oral health examination was before 1 y of age (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.371–5.479). The adjusted HR of dental caries for children seen by pediatric dentists (HR = 1.215; 95% CI, 1.207–1.223) and physicians (HR = 2.618; 95% CI, 2.601–2.635) was higher than those seen by a general dentist. Conclusions: Findings from this study highlight the importance of children having their first oral health examination no later than 12 mo of age in accordance with existing guidelines and referrals from physicians to prevent the need for invasive treatment. Knowledge of Transfer Statement: Results of this study emphasize the need for a child’s first oral health examination to be completed no later than 12 mo of age to prevent dental caries. Reinforcement and referrals by physicians based on this recommendation facilitate early establishment of a dental home in young children.

Safety and Outcome of Intracranial Pressure Monitor Placement Performed by Trauma Critical Care Surgeons

Introduction The Brain Trauma Foundation advises intracranial pressure monitor placement (ICPM) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score ≤8 and an abnormal head computed tomographic scan (CT) finding. Prior studies demonstrated that ICPMs could be placed by non-neurosurgeons. We hypothesized that ICPM placement by trauma critical care surgeons (TCCS) would increase appropriate utilization (AU), decrease time to placement (TTP), and have equivalent complications to those placed by neurosurgeons. Methods We retrospectively reviewed medical records of adult trauma patients admitted with a TBI in a historical control group (HCG) and practice change group (PCG). Demographics, Injury Severity Score (ISS), outcomes, ICPM placement by provider type, and time to placement were identified. Complications and appropriate utilization were recorded. Results 70 patients in the HCG and 84 patients in the PCG met criteria for inclusion. Demographics, arrival GCS, ICU GCS, ISS, and admission APACHE II scores were not statistically significant. AU was 7/70 for HCG vs 19/84 in the PCG ( P = .04036). Median TTP was 6.5 hours for HCG vs 5.25 for PCG ( P = .9308). Interquartile range showed the data clustered around an earlier placement time, 2.3-14.0 hours, in the PCG. Complications between the 2 groups were not statistically significant, 0/7 for HCG vs 5/19 for PCG ( P = .2782). Discussion This study confirms that ICPMs can be safely placed by TCCS. Our results demonstrate that placement of ICPMs by TCCS improves AU and possibly improves TTP.

Bone-Active Medication Utilization from 2013-2017 Amid Beneficiaries Aged 65+ with Medicare Part D by Provider Type

As the United States’ population increasingly consists of older adults aged 65+, an increase is expected in the prevalence of osteoporosis and the number of osteoporotic fractures. Bone-active medications (BAM) delay osteoporosis progression and prevent fragility fractures, but historically low treatment persistence rates and drug utilization for BAM exist among at-risk older adults. This research assessed for differences in the BAM utilization rates over five-years in Medicare Part D by provider type: geriatric specialists (GERO), generalists, specialists, nurse practitioners (NP), and physicians’ assistants (PA). This longitudinal retrospective analysis included providers with at least one BAM prescription among beneficiaries aged 65+. An analysis of response profiles was used to model the mean BAM utilization rates overall and by provider group. Of the 50,249 providers included in this analysis, 88.15% were generalists, 5.76% specialists, 1.48% GERO, 2.73% NP, and 1.87% PA. From 2013-2017, the prevalence of BAM utilization was 6%. Over the five years, BAM utilization rates did not change significantly, but provider-specific rates were significantly different (F=12.53, p<.001). Provider-specific utilization rates were inconsistent with the highest utilization rates and most considerable variation observed among specialists (14.95%). PAs and NPs’ BAM utilization rates were stable at around 9.02% and 9.20%, but GERO and generalists exhibited the lowest utilization rates, 4.86% and 5.79%, respectively. While specialists had the higher-than-expected utilization rates, the overall and provider-specific BAM utilization rates were low and did not increase over time. Further research is needed to identify how provider-related factors, like geographic region and clinical training, influence underutilization.

Correlates of Insulin Selection as a First-Line Pharmacological Treatment for Gestational Diabetes

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate prenatal factors associated with insulin prescription as a first-line pharmacotherapy for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM; compared with oral antidiabetic medication) after failed medical nutrition therapy. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of 437 women with a singleton pregnancy and diagnosis of A2GDM (GDM requiring pharmacotherapy), delivering in a university hospital between 2015 and 2019. Maternal sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, as well as GDM-related factors, including provider type that manages GDM, were compared between women who received insulin versus oral antidiabetic medication (metformin or glyburide) as the first-line pharmacotherapy using univariable and multivariable analyses. Results In univariable analysis, maternal age, race and ethnicity, insurance, chronic hypertension, gestational age at GDM diagnosis, glucose level after 50-g glucose loading test, and provider type were associated with insulin prescription. In multivariable analysis, after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical maternal factors, GDM characteristics and provider type, Hispanic ethnicity (0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.09–0.73), and lack of insurance (0.34, 95% CI: 0.13–0.89) remained associated with lower odds of insulin prescription, whereas endocrinology management of GDM (compared with obstetrics and gynecology [OBGYN]) (8.07, 95% CI: 3.27–19.90) remained associated with higher odds of insulin prescription. Conclusion Women of Hispanic ethnicity and women with no insurance were less likely to receive insulin and more likely to receive oral antidiabetic medication for GDM pharmacotherapy, while management by endocrinology was associated with higher odds of insulin prescription.This finding deserves more investigation to understand if differences are due to patient choice or a health disparity in the choice of pharmacologic agent for A2GDM. Key Points