Impact of Antimicrobial Stewardship Consultation Service at an Academic Institution.

Background: Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) aim to optimize antimicrobial use to decrease resistance and acquisition of hospital-acquired infections, improve patient outcomes, and reduce health care costs. We evaluated interventions and outcomes associated with a dedicated stewardship consult service staffed by physician assistant with supervision from infectious disease physician. Methods: This was a retrospective study of electronic medical records of adult patients evaluated by the ASP team from November 2012 to December 2013 in an 802-bed teaching hospital in Detroit, Mich. Hospice patients were excluded. Patient characteristics, type of infection, microbiological cultures, antimicrobials utilized, interventions performed, and clinical outcomes were assessed. Results: Three hundred thirty-five patients met the inclusion criteria. Median age was 67 years, and 52% were male. The most common infections were lower respiratory (28%) and urinary tract infections (21%). However, 24% were diagnosed as having no infection, and of these, 67% had asymptomatic bacteriuria. Escherichia coli (21%) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (14%) were most frequently isolated pathogens. The ASP team denied 38% of peripherally inserted central catheter requests and recommended intravenous-to-oral conversion in 38% cases, discontinuation of antibiotics in 27%, and de-escalation of therapy in 13%. Vancomycin (18%) and quinolones (16%) were the most commonly prescribed antibiotics. The majority of patients (95%) had clinical success, whereas very few developed Clostridium difficile infection (1.5%) or had infection-related readmission (2%) within 30 days. Conclusions: Our ASP consult service reduced unnecessary peripherally inserted central catheter placement and antimicrobial use with favorable clinical success and patient outcomes. In light of the new regulatory ASP requirements, a midlevel provider may be beneficial to and an integral part of an infectious disease physician-supervised stewardship team. Copyright (C) 2017 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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