Rachael Ross

Identifying targets for antimicrobial stewardship in children's hospitals

OBJECTIVE Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are recommended to optimize antimicrobial use for hospitalized patients. Although mechanisms for the implementation of ASPs have been described, data-driven approaches to prioritize specific conditions and antimicrobials for intervention have not been established. We aimed to develop a strategy for identifying high-impact targets for antimicrobial stewardship efforts. DESIGN Retrospective cross-sectional study. SETTING AND PATIENTS Children admitted to 32 freestanding childrens hospitals in the United States in 2010. METHODS We identified the conditions with the largest proportional contribution to the total days of antibiotic therapy prescribed to all hospitalized children. For the 4 highest-using conditions, we examined variability between hospitals in antibiotic selection patterns for use of either first- or second-line therapies depending on the condition. Antibiotic use was determined using standardized probability of exposure to selected agents and standardized days of therapy per 1,000 patient-days, adjusting for patient demographics and severity of illness. RESULTS In 2010, 524,364 children received 2,082,929 days of antibiotic therapy. Surgical patients received 43% of all antibiotics. The 4 highest-using conditions-pneumonia, appendicitis, cystic fibrosis, and skin and soft-tissue infection-represent 1% of all conditions yet accounted for more than 10% of all antibiotic use. Wide variability in antibiotic use occurred for 3 of these 4 conditions. CONCLUSIONS Antibiotic use in childrens hospitals varied broadly across institutions when examining diagnoses individually and adjusting for severity of illness. Identifying conditions with both frequent and variable antimicrobial use informs the prioritization of high-impact targets for future antimicrobial stewardship interventions.

Impact of Infectious Diseases Society of America/Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Guidelines on Treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Hospitalized Children

We examined the impact of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society/Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines that recommend ampicillin or amoxicillin for children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. Prescribing of ampicillin/amoxicillin increased following guideline publication, but remains low. Cephalosporin and macrolide prescribing decreased but remains common. Further studies exploring outcomes of and reasons for compliance with guidelines are warranted.

Decreasing Rates of Invasive Candidiasis in Pediatric Hospitals Across the United States

Rates of invasive candidiasis (IC) in children between 2003 and 2011 were evaluated in a retrospective cross-sectional analysis. The rate of IC decreased 72% (P < .001) overall and 91% in neonates (P < .001). Improving infection control efforts is thought to be a contributing factor for this decrease.

Extended- Versus Narrower-Spectrum Antibiotics for Appendicitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Appendicitis guidelines recommend either narrower- or extended-spectrum antibiotics for treatment of complicated appendicitis. The goal of this study was to compare the effectiveness of extended-spectrum versus narrower-spectrum antibiotics for children with appendicitis. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of children aged 3 to 18 years discharged between 2011 and 2013 from 23 freestanding children’s hospitals with an appendicitis diagnosis and appendectomy performed. Subjects were classified as having complicated appendicitis if they had a postoperative length of stay ≥3 days, a central venous catheter placed, major or severe illness classification, or ICU admission. The exposure of interest was receipt of systemic extended-spectrum antibiotics (piperacillin ± tazobactam, ticarcillin ± clavulanate, ceftazidime, cefepime, or a carbapenem) on the day of appendectomy or the day after. The primary outcome was 30-day readmission for wound infection or repeat abdominal surgery. Multivariable logistic regression, propensity score weighting, and subgroup analyses were used to control for confounding by indication. RESULTS: Of 24 984 patients, 17 654 (70.7%) had uncomplicated appendicitis and 7330 (29.3%) had complicated appendicitis. Overall, 664 (2.7%) patients experienced the primary outcome, 1.1% among uncomplicated cases and 6.4% among complicated cases (P < .001). Extended-spectrum antibiotic exposure was significantly associated with the primary outcome in complicated (adjusted odds ratio, 1.43 [95% confidence interval, 1.06 to 1.93]), but not uncomplicated, (adjusted odds ratio, 1.32 [95% confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.98]) appendicitis. These odds ratios remained consistent across additional analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Extended-spectrum antibiotics seem to offer no advantage over narrower-spectrum agents for children with surgically managed acute uncomplicated or complicated appendicitis.

Impact of a New Practice Guideline on Antibiotic Use With Pediatric Tonsillectomy

IMPORTANCE More than 500,000 children undergo tonsillectomy each year in the United States. Although prior studies suggest that most patients received perioperative antibiotics, practice varies across centers. In 2011, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) published a practice guideline recommending against perioperative antibiotic use for pediatric tonsillectomy. The impact of this recommendation has not been thoroughly examined. OBJECTIVE To determine the impact of the AAO-HNS guideline on the use of perioperative antibiotics and patient outcomes for pediatric tonsillectomy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This was a quasi-experimental study including 9265 children who underwent routine tonsillectomy from January 2009 through August 2012 within a large pediatric health care network containing hospital-based and ambulatory surgical facilities. Data were collected from a shared electronic health record and validated through manual medical record review. We used an interrupted time series analysis with segmented logistic regression and a nonequivalent dependent variable (tympanoplasty) to assess acute changes and differences in trends over time relative to guideline publication. INTERVENTIONS Publication of the AAO-HNS clinical practice guideline. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was antibiotic administration on the day of surgery. Secondary outcomes included otolaryngology clinic encounters, emergency department encounters, hospital admissions, and surgical procedures for bleeding in the 30 days following tonsillectomy. RESULTS Of 9265 tonsillectomies during the study period, 5359 met inclusion criteria. Immediately after guideline publication, perioperative antibiotic use dropped by 86.5% (P < .001) and was sustained throughout the postintervention period. Rates of otolaryngology clinic encounters, emergency department encounters, and hospital admissions did not change significantly over time. There was a small but statistically significant increase in surgical procedures for bleeding following the intervention from 1.35% (95% CI, 0.57%-2.14%) to 3.48% (95% CI, 1.85%-5.10%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE AAO-HNS guideline publication decreased perioperative antibiotic use for pediatric tonsillectomy across a large pediatric health care network. Although there were no changes in otolaryngology clinic visits, emergency department visits, or admissions, we found a small but significant increase in surgery for bleeding following guideline publication. Additional studies are necessary to verify this unexpected association.

Identifying Antimicrobial Stewardship Targets for Pediatric Surgical Patients

BACKGROUND More than 80% of surgical inpatients at US childrens hospitals receive antibiotics, accounting for >40% of all inpatient pediatric antibiotic use. We aimed to examine the collective pool of all systemic antibiotics prescribed to children hospitalized for surgical conditions and identify common surgical conditions with highly variable and potentially unnecessary antibiotic use, because these conditions may represent antimicrobial stewardship priorities. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of surgical inpatients discharged in 2012 at 37 freestanding childrens hospitals. We captured all systemic antibiotic use as days of therapy (DOT), and we reported surgical conditions by frequency and contribution to overall antibiotic use. We used multivariable logistic and Poisson regression with marginal standardization to estimate (1) the standardized proportion and (2) DOT of condition-specific targeted antibiotic use among top surgical condition patients. RESULTS Among 151 345 surgical inpatients, 82.9% received antimicrobials for a median 2 DOT per subject (interquartile range, 1-5; range, 1-958). The most commonly received antibiotics were cefazolin (16.7% of all DOT), vancomycin (12.5%), and piperacillin/tazobactam (6.9%). The top 10 conditions contributing most to antibiotic use accounted for 51.3% of all antibiotic use. Among these, adjusted use of postoperative and perioperative vancomycin varied across hospitals among craniotomy and cardiothoracic surgery subjects (all P < .001); adjusted use of broad-spectrum antipseudomonal agents varied across hospitals among gastrointestinal surgery subjects (all P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Use of (1) vancomycin for pediatric cardiothoracic and neurosurgical patients and (2) broad-spectrum antipseudomonal agents for gastrointestinal surgery patients represent potentially high-yield targets for stewardship efforts to reduce unnecessary antimicrobial use.

Association of Broad- vs Narrow-Spectrum Antibiotics With Treatment Failure, Adverse Events, and Quality of Life in Children With Acute Respiratory Tract Infections

Importance Acute respiratory tract infections account for the majority of antibiotic exposure in children, and broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections is increasing. It is not clear whether broad-spectrum treatment is associated with improved outcomes compared with narrow-spectrum treatment. Objective To compare the effectiveness of broad-spectrum and narrow-spectrum antibiotic treatment for acute respiratory tract infections in children. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective cohort study assessing clinical outcomes and a prospective cohort study assessing patient-centered outcomes of children between the ages of 6 months and 12 years diagnosed with an acute respiratory tract infection and prescribed an oral antibiotic between January 2015 and April 2016 in a network of 31 pediatric primary care practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Stratified and propensity score–matched analyses to account for confounding by clinician and by patient-level characteristics, respectively, were implemented for both cohorts. Exposures Broad-spectrum antibiotics vs narrow-spectrum antibiotics. Main Outcomes and Measures In the retrospective cohort, the primary outcomes were treatment failure and adverse events 14 days after diagnosis. In the prospective cohort, the primary outcomes were quality of life, other patient-centered outcomes, and patient-reported adverse events. Results Of 30 159 children in the retrospective cohort (19 179 with acute otitis media; 6746, group A streptococcal pharyngitis; and 4234, acute sinusitis), 4307 (14%) were prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics including amoxicillin-clavulanate, cephalosporins, and macrolides. Broad-spectrum treatment was not associated with a lower rate of treatment failure (3.4% for broad-spectrum antibiotics vs 3.1% for narrow-spectrum antibiotics; risk difference for full matched analysis, 0.3% [95% CI, −0.4% to 0.9%]). Of 2472 children enrolled in the prospective cohort (1100 with acute otitis media; 705, group A streptococcal pharyngitis; and 667, acute sinusitis), 868 (35%) were prescribed broad-spectrum antibiotics. Broad-spectrum antibiotics were associated with a slightly worse child quality of life (score of 90.2 for broad-spectrum antibiotics vs 91.5 for narrow-spectrum antibiotics; score difference for full matched analysis, −1.4% [95% CI, −2.4% to −0.4%]) but not with other patient-centered outcomes. Broad-spectrum treatment was associated with a higher risk of adverse events documented by the clinician (3.7% for broad-spectrum antibiotics vs 2.7% for narrow-spectrum antibiotics; risk difference for full matched analysis, 1.1% [95% CI, 0.4% to 1.8%]) and reported by the patient (35.6% for broad-spectrum antibiotics vs 25.1% for narrow-spectrum antibiotics; risk difference for full matched analysis, 12.2% [95% CI, 7.3% to 17.2%]). Conclusions and Relevance Among children with acute respiratory tract infections, broad-spectrum antibiotics were not associated with better clinical or patient-centered outcomes compared with narrow-spectrum antibiotics, and were associated with higher rates of adverse events. These data support the use of narrow-spectrum antibiotics for most children with acute respiratory tract infections.

Development and application of an antibiotic spectrum index for benchmarking antibiotic selection patterns across hospitals

Standard metrics for antimicrobial use consider volume but not spectrum of antimicrobial prescribing. We developed an antibiotic spectrum index (ASI) to classify commonly used antibiotics based on activity against important pathogens. The application of this index to hospital antibiotic use reveals how this tool enhances current antimicrobial stewardship metrics. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:993-997.

Cost of antimicrobial therapy across US children’s hospitals

We analyzed the cost of antimicrobial prescribing across freestanding childrens hospitals. A few specific antimicrobials accounted for a large proportion of expenditures, and antimicrobial spending varied substantially across hospitals, even within specific clinical conditions. Antimicrobial stewardship programs should consider these data to incorporate high-value antimicrobial prescribing when clinically appropriate.

Temporal Trends and Center Variation in Early Antibiotic Use Among Premature Infants

Key Points Question Have empirical early antibiotic prescribing patterns for premature infants changed over time? Findings This multicenter cohort study of more than 40 000 premature infants found that most premature infants received early antibiotic administration and that rates of initiation of empirical early antibiotic therapy did not change from 2009 to 2015. Rates of prolonged antibiotic administration among very low-birth-weight infants decreased slightly, but did not change among extremely low-birth-weight infants. Meaning Despite concerns regarding the negative impact of early and prolonged empirical antibiotic use among premature newborns, neonatal clinicians across the United States continue to prescribe empirical antibiotics to the majority of very low-birth-weight infants in the first 3 days of age.