Search

Background An estimated 30% of antibiotic prescriptions in outpatient settings may be inappropriate. Antibiotic exposure increases an individual’s risk of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and acquiring drug-resistant pathogens. To quantify the increased risk of CDI and drug-resistant pathogens posed by antibiotics prescribed in outpatient visits, we examined a two-year cohort of patients seen in primary care clinics at VA Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOC) associated with a large VA Medical Center. Methods Among patients with an in-person visit at 13 CBOCs in 2018–2019, we examined rates of antibiotic-associated adverse events (AEs), defined as community-onset CDI or acquisition of resistant Gram-negative bacteria (R-GNB), in the 90 days following those visits. For each visit, we used administrative databases to determine if systemic antibiotics were prescribed, if there was an associated infectious diagnosis, and the subsequent occurrence of AEs. We summarized quarterly rates of prescribed antibiotics and AEs, characterized patients with and without AEs, and estimated the risk ratio of AE for an antibiotic prescription. Results Following 236,665 primary care visits, we observed 62 and 225 AEs due to CDI and R-GNB, respectively (0.12% combined rate) among 278 patients (5 with both). Patients who developed CDI or R-GNB had a higher Charlson Comorbidity Index (3.6 ± SD 3.0 and 2.68 ± SD 2.7, respectively) compared to those without AEs (0.72 ± SD 1.3; Table). The rate of new antibiotic prescriptions was 4% in visits without and 10% in visits with a subsequent AE, yielding a risk ratio of 2.5 (95% CI: 1.7–3.7). The rates of both antibiotic prescribing and AE were steady over the examined two-year period (Figure). Table Figure Conclusion Among all patients with a CBOC visit between 2018–2019, an AE, defined as CDI or R-GNB acquisition, was observed following only 0.1% of primary care visits. Among patients who experienced an AE, only 10% of primary care visits preceding those events included a new antibiotic prescription. While this analysis does not address antibiotics during inpatient stays or prescribed by specialty clinics, these findings suggest that among Veterans, outpatient antibiotic exposure may have only a modest contribution to the risk of AE. Disclosures Robin Jump, MD, PhD, Accelerate (Grant/Research Support)Merck (Grant/Research Support)Pfizer (Grant/Research Support, Advisor or Review Panel member)Roche (Advisor or Review Panel member) Federico Perez, MD, MS, Accelerate (Research Grant or Support)Merck (Research Grant or Support)Pfizer (Research Grant or Support)

Background Implementing effective antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) in long-term care (LTC) settings is challenging. We present the results of an intervention intended to change the culture of antibiotic prescribing in 439 United States LTC facilities (LTCF). Methods The LTC Safety Program assisted LTCFs with establishing and implementing ASPs from 12/2018 to 11/2019. Through webinars held 1–2 times per month and other educational content, the Safety Program emphasized 1) the science of safety to improve teamwork and identify antibiotic-associated harm and 2) clinical best practices in making antibiotic treatment decisions. Content was organized using the Four Moments of Antibiotic Decision Making Framework (Figure 1). All staff (e.g., physicians, nurses, nurse assistants) were encouraged to participate. LTCFs submitted monthly antibiotic days of therapy (DOT), numbers of new antibiotic starts, urine cultures (UCX) ordered, Clostridioides difficile LabID events, and census data. Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to calculate pre-post intervention changes at bi-monthly intervals for antibiotic DOT, antibiotic starts and UCX, each per 1,000 resident-days (RD), and C. difficile LabID events per 10,000 RD, comparing the beginning (1/2019 and 2/2019) and end (11/2019 and 12/2019) of the Safety Program. Figure 1. Four Moments of Antibiotic Decision Making in the Long-Term Care Setting Results Of 439 LTCFs who completed the Safety program, the majority were mid-sized (75–149 beds; 229, 52.2%), most were non-hospital based and owned by a larger system (246, 56.0%), with similar distributions between urban and rural settings. Of these, 348 (79%) submitted both baseline and end-of-intervention data. Antibiotic starts decreased from 7.89 to 7.48 starts/1000 RD; P = 0.02). Days of therapy for all antibiotics decreased from 64.1 to 61.0 DOT/1,000 RD; P = 0.068) and for fluoroquinolones (an antibiotic targeted in the Safety Program) from 1.49 to 1.28 DOT/1,000RD; P=0.002. UCX decreased from 3.01 to 2.63 orders/1000 RD; P = 0.001). There were no significant differences in C. difficile LabID events Table 1. Table 1. Changes from baseline (Jan-Feb, 2019) to the end (Nov-Dec, 2019) of the AHRQ Safety Program Conclusion By targeting both antibiotic prescribing culture and knowledge of best practices, the AHRQ Safety Program led to significant reductions in antibiotic use across a large cohort of LTCFs. Disclosures Morgan Katz, MD, MHS, AHRQ (Research Grant or Support)FutureCare Health Systems (Consultant)Roche (Advisor or Review Panel member) Robin Jump, MD, PhD, Accelerate (Grant/Research Support)Merck (Grant/Research Support)Pfizer (Grant/Research Support, Advisor or Review Panel member)Roche (Advisor or Review Panel member)

Background Atlantoaxial joint septic arthritis and superior ophthalmic vein thrombosis (SOVT) are uncommon sequelae of infections. Here, we describe a patient who presented concurrently with two uncommon manifestations of a common pathogen, methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA), and review the associated literature. A 68-year-old man presented to the hospital with a 4-day history of worsening neck pain, right shoulder pain, and one episode of diplopia. He reported left wrist pain and swelling 3 weeks prior to presentation. A whole body 18F-positron emission tomography scan detected abnormal hypermetabolic activity in the atlantoaxial joint and in the right shoulder (Figure 1A and B). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed the presence of right SOVT (Figure 1C and D). Blood cultures grew MSSA. He underwent debridement of his right shoulder and was started on intravenous cefazolin. Conservative management of his atlantoaxial septic arthritis was unsuccessful and several weeks into his antibiotic course, he developed right-arm weakness for which he underwent C4 fusion to address atlanto-axial instability. Methods We reviewed previous reports describing atlantoaxial septic arthritis (n = 6) and septic ophthalmic vein thrombosis (n = 6). Results Previous reports of atlantoaxial septic arthritis detailed clinical presentations of subacute to acute onset of neck pain with fever, five of which were due to S. aureus. Four of the cases required a surgical intervention involving the cervical spine. Previous reports of SOVT describe patients ipsilateral proptosis, ptosis and chemosis. In all six cases, the SOVT developed in concurrence with a head and neck infections. Three cases required surgery or an interventional procedure for source control Two cases recovered completely and three cases improved but with diplopia or permanent loss of vision in the affected eye. Conclusion Even with early recognition and prompt initiation of antibiotic therapy, our patient still suffered from long-term sequelae atlantoaxial septic arthritis and SOVT, a testament to the potential for MSSA to cause severe infections. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.