Electronic Alerts with Automated Consultations Promote Appropriate Antimicrobial Prescriptions

BACKGROUND: To promote appropriate antimicrobial use in bloodstream infections (BSIs), we initiated an intervention program consisting of electronic alerts and automated infectious diseases consultations in which the identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test (ID/AST) results were reported. METHODS: We compared the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescriptions and clinical outcomes in BSIs before and after initiation of the program. Appropriateness was assessed in terms of effective therapy, optimal therapy, de-escalation therapy, and intravenous to oral switch therapy. RESULTS: There were 648 BSI episodes in the pre-program period and 678 in the program period. The proportion of effective, optimal, and de-escalation therapies assessed 24 hours after the reporting of the ID/AST results increased from 87.8% (95% confidence interval [CI] 85.5–90.5), 64.4% (95% CI 60.8–68.1), and 10.0% (95% CI 7.5–12.6) in the pre-program period, respectively, to 94.4% (95% CI 92.7–96.1), 81.4% (95% CI 78.4–84.3), and 18.6% (95% CI 15.3–21.9) in the program period, respectively. Kaplan-Meier analyses and log-rank tests revealed that the time to effective (p<0.001), optimal (p<0.001), and de-escalation (p = 0.017) therapies were significantly different in the two periods. Segmented linear regression analysis showed the increase in the proportion of effective (p = 0.015), optimal (p<0.001), and de-escalation (p = 0.010) therapies at 24 hours after reporting, immediately after program initiation. No significant baseline trends or changes in trends were identified. There were no significant differences in time to intravenous to oral switch therapy, length of stay, and 30-day mortality rate. CONCLUSION: This novel form of stewardship program based on intervention by infectious disease specialists and information technology improved antimicrobial prescriptions in BSIs.