Antimicrobial Stewardship in Non- Traditional Settings A Practical Guide Shira Doron Maureen Campion Editors 123 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Non- Traditional Settings Shira Doron • Maureen Campion Editors Antimicrobial Stewardship in Non-Traditional Settings A Practical Guide Editors Shira Doron Maureen Campion Division of Geographic Medicine Department of Pharmacy and Infectious Diseases Tufts Medical Center Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA, USA Boston, MA, USA ISBN 978-3-031-21709-8 ISBN 978-3-031-21710-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21710-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Introduction Antimicrobials are critical life-saving tools of modern medicine, but they are also dangerous. Rapid drug development in the early days of antibiotics meant that even as resistance was developing, prescribers could almost always count on a new anti- microbial coming to market that would treat the increasingly resistant pathogens. But the drug development pipeline is no longer keeping up with the growing resis- tance trend. As a result, a “post-antibiotic era,” where minor infections could once again kill and advanced therapies like cancer chemotherapy and organ transplanta- tion could prove too dangerous, looms large. Antimicrobial stewardship (AS) is the coordinated effort of measuring and improving the way antimicrobials are prescribed and used, with the goal of maxi- mizing benefit and minimizing harms. Those harms include not only the promotion of antimicrobial resistance but also unnecessary adverse events, side effects, and costs. Antimicrobial stewardship is critical to preserving our ability to use antimi- crobials in the future. In 2014, CDC called on acute care hospitals to implement antimicrobial steward- ship programs based on the Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs [1]. In 2015, the Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes [2] were released. In 2016, the Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship [3] were launched, with the intent to encompass clinics, emergency departments, dental offices, and urgent care centers. The goal is to continue to expand stewardship efforts to every corner of health care in which antimicrobials are in use. However, the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship requires resources—including time, clinical expertise, and compensation. The 2007 Infectious Diseases Society of America consensus guidelines recom- mended that AS programs be established with the dedicated, compensated time of Infectious Disease specialty trained physicians and pharmacists [4]. However, many healthcare settings lack the resources necessary to adhere to this recommendation. Nevertheless, AS can be effectively adapted to environments with limited infectious diseases resources. In this book, we provide in-depth reviews on approaches to antimicrobial stewardship, from the implementation of successful initiatives to the develop- ment of formal programs, in non-traditional, often resource-limited, settings. The authors, who are physicians, clinical pharmacists, and veterinarians, are v vi Introduction experts who practice in those settings and have worked therein to improve the prudent use of antimicrobials. This information will hopefully help health care professionals to initiate or enhance their antimicrobial stewardship practices. Acknowledgment: We thank Dr. Kirthana Beaulac for her work on the concep- tion of this book and early editing. References 1. CDC Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs. https://www.cdc.gov/ antibiotic- use/core- elements/hospital.html. 2. CDC Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes. https://www.cdc.gov/ antibiotic- use/core- elements/nursing- homes.html. 3. CDC Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship. https://www.cdc.gov/antibiotic- use/ core- elements/outpatient.html. 4. Dellit TH, Owens RC, McGowan JE Jr, et al. Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America guidelines for developing an institutional program to enhance antimicrobial stewardship. Clin Infect Dis. 2007;44(2):159–77. Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases Shira Doron Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] Department of Pharmacy Maureen Campion Tufts Medical Center Boston, MA, USA e-mail: [email protected] Contents 1 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Long-Term Care Facilities (Nursing Homes and Rehabilitation Centers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lucy S. Witt, Sheena Kandiah, and Sujit Suchindran 2 Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Outpatient Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Monika Zmarlicka, Jacinta Chin, and Gabriela Andujar Vazquez 3 Antibiotic Stewardship in the Emergency Department . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Kellie J. Goodlet, Michael D. Nailor, and Larissa S. May 4 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Critical Access Hospitals . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Sarah B. Green and David H. Priest 5 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Ambulatory Surgery Centers . . . . . . . . 85 Sophia Macleay Cardwell, Andrew Root, and Andrea Halliday 6 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Canine and Feline Veterinary Medicine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Claire Fellman and Annie Wayne 7 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Immunocompromised Hosts . . . . . . . . . 123 Tine Vindenes, Hrvoje Melinscak, Kristin Linder, and Majd Alsoubani 8 Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Intensive Care Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Iris H. Chen, David P. Nicolau, and Joseph L. Kuti 9 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Pediatric Patients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Jennifer E. Girotto and Nicholas Bennett 10 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Hospital Networks and Health Care Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 M. Sean Boger and Lisa E. Davidson Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 vii Antimicrobial Stewardship in Long-Term 1 Care Facilities (Nursing Homes and Rehabilitation Centers) Lucy S. Witt, Sheena Kandiah, and Sujit Suchindran Introduction Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs and Why Your Facility Should Have One Antimicrobial overuse is a well-described problem in long-term care settings such as nursing homes and sub-acute rehabilitation centers [1–3] and is quickly becom- ing more recognized in acute rehabilitation centers [4, 5]. An antimicrobial stew- ardship program (ASP) is an institutional program aimed at optimizing antimicrobial usage with the goal of improving patients’ health by reducing the number of healthcare associated infections such as Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) and multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO) along with medication-associated adverse events. In 2017 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that determines Medicare and Medicaid regulations, required that all participating long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and rehabilitation centers establish an ASP that must include “antibiotic use protocols and a system to moni- tor antibiotic use” [6]. A survey conducted in 2018 showed that a majority of US nursing homes had at least a “moderately comprehensive” ASP program, an increase from prior studies [7]. For the purposes of this chapter the term rehabilita- tion centers will be used to describe both acute and sub-acute rehabilitation facili- ties. The term long- term care facilities will be used to describe institutions where residents reside indefinitely. Numerous studies have described antibiotic overuse and its relationship to increased CDI, MDROs, and adverse medication effects [2, 3, 8]. Antibiotic overuse and misuse lead to excess cost to a facility from the costs of the unnecessary L. S. Witt · S. Kandiah · S. Suchindran (*) Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1 Switzerland AG 2023 S. Doron, M. Campion (eds.), Antimicrobial Stewardship in Non-Traditional Settings, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21710-4_1 2 L. S. Witt et al. antibiotics themselves, the costs of using expensive antibiotics when less expensive ones could be substituted, and from treatment of downstream MDROs or medica- tion side effects as well as increased length of stay in acute care facilities. ASPs have been shown to alleviate some of this financial burden [9–11]. Furthermore, residents living in long-term care facilities with inappropriate antibiotic use are at higher risk for adverse outcomes such as CDI, MDROs, and medication side effects regardless of whether or not they receive an antibiotic prescription [3]. A majority of nursing home residents will receive an antimicrobial in the course of a year [1, 12] and 40–75% of these prescriptions may be inappropriate [2] (Fig. 1.1). Residents of long-term care facilities and sub-acute rehabilitation centers may be frail and prone to infection making it challenging for providers to balance between caring for these patients while avoiding antibiotic overuse. Similarly, infections are known to be a major cause of nursing home resident morbidity and mortality and are the most common reason for transfer from a nursing home to an acute care hospital [1]. There is significantly more variability in antimicrobial usage between LTCFs compared to acute care hospitals making these LTCFs an important target of antimicrobial stew- ardship interventions [3, 13]. In this chapter we aim to summarize and expand upon the importance of ASP, describe practical aspects of ASP implementation, and review existing literature supporting certain interventions. Throughout we will highlight specific areas of focus that may be applicable in LTCFs and rehabilitation centers. Acute Rehabilitation Centers, Sub-Acute Rehabilitation, and Long- Term Care Facilities We acknowledge that antimicrobial stewardship strategies may differ depending on the type of rehabilitation setting. Anticipating each institution’s stewardship needs requires an understanding of the differences between the settings. Acute rehabilita- tion facilities care for patients who can be expected to make substantial improve- ments in functional status over a shorter period of time. They can be a free-standing Fig. 1.1 Antibiotic use in long-term care facilities. Adapted from CDC Core Elements 1 Antimicrobial Stewardship in Long-Term Care Facilities… 3 hospital or housed within an acute care hospital. Often acute rehabilitation patients also require ongoing medical treatment in combination with physical, occupational, or speech therapy. At these facilities, clinical care and leadership of a multidisci- plinary care team is provided by physicians trained in rehabilitation medicine who provide daily face-to-face patient assessments. A physician is available at all times for emergencies. These patients also receive 24-h nursing care and more than three hours of therapy per day, at least five times weekly. Patients in this setting are usu- ally discharged to home or community settings after a shorter stay. Research into ASP in the acute rehabilitation setting is lacking. However, the themes and interven- tions described in this chapter are likely applicable, with modification, to acute rehabilitation facilities. Acute rehabilitation facilities housed within acute care hos- pitals may have more resources given their potential for proximity to specialized clinical pharmacists, infectious disease physicians, and on-site microbiology laboratories. Compared to acute rehabilitation, sub-acute rehabilitation centers target patients with less intense therapy needs, who often participate in physical therapy for one to two hours daily. Direct contact with clinicians is less frequent compared to that in acute rehabilitation facilities. The length of stay is generally longer, and patients leave these facilities and return to the community or move into LTCFs. LTCF resi- dents require regular skilled nursing assistance for activities of daily living. However, these residents do not require the ongoing, intense medical care that takes place in Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals such as prolonged ventilator weaning. Given the differences between care settings, we will point out areas that might be more applicable to rehabilitation centers rather than LTCFs and vice versa. Existing Guidance Multiple resources exist which can provide a general framework and aid in imple- mentation of ASPs in long-term care settings including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)’s published guidance on ASP implementation specific to long-term care settings [12, 14]. Even more focused, the Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine created a template for policies tailored to LTCFs [15]. Direct links to these resources are listed at the end of this chapter for independent review. These tools provide use- ful guidance that can be tailored to a specific institution’s resources and needs. Infections in Long-Term Care Facilities and Rehabilitation Centers Infections in LTCFs can be considered in two broad categories: infectious syn- dromes and problematic pathogens. Interventions that target these syndromes or infections are likely to be useful and lead to improvement in patient outcomes as well as possible cost savings [5, 9, 10, 16–18]. The three most commonly reported infectious syndromes in LTCFs are urinary tract infections (UTIs), skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), and respiratory tract