1084. A Pre- and Post-Intervention Study to Implement a Successful Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at an Urban Chronic Hemodialysis Center

Abstract

Abstract Background Patients receiving chronic outpatient hemodialysis (CHD) are at high risk for bloodstream and vascular access infections due to the immune-compromised status of patients and repeated vascular access. CHD patients are especially vulnerable to multidrug-resistant organisms due to extensive exposure to antibiotics (ABX). It is estimated that more than 40% of CHD patients receive ≥1 ABX course each year. As data characterizing ABX use and reasons for inappropriate prescribing is still scarce in CHD patients, our objective was to assess ABX use pre- and post-implementation of antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP). Methods A retrospective cohort study to analyze appropriate ABX use from 2015–2018 in CHD patients was conducted. Starting January 15, 2019, ASP was established at the hemodialysis center and tracked all ABX doses including appropriate indication, dosage, frequency, route, therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and duration of therapy. All results are presented as descriptive statistics. Results Of the 250 accounts of antibiotics that were assessed retrospectively in all patients from ages 12 to 95 years old, 50% of antibiotics ordered were inappropriately prescribed. The following were the reasons for inappropriateness: indication (59%), duration (14%), culture susceptibility (7%), dose (12%), narrow-spectrum warranted (2%), TDM (6%). Twenty-three accounts were assessed post-implementation phase. ASP implementation led to 100% compliance with regards to the appropriateness of ABX usage (indication, dose, and duration). Additional, ASP interventions included recommendations to obtain blood cultures and conduct TDM in 47% of patients. Conclusion This study identified inappropriateness of antibiotic usage without an established ASP in CHD patients. Implementation of ASP was associated with a positive impact on all ABX doses prescribed and this can have a significant outcome on optimizing ABX use in CHD patients. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.