1141. Implementation of a Pediatric Handshake Antimicrobial Stewardship Program to Improve Antimicrobial Utilization

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs emerged in response to rising rates of resistance and adverse effects associated with inappropriate antimicrobial utilization. Optimal metrics and strategies (e.g., preauthorization, prospective audit and feedback) for AMS remain to be elucidated. This study evaluated the impact of a multidisciplinary, rounding-based AMS strategy (i.e., Handshake Stewardship) on antimicrobial utilization and prescribing practices at a pediatric hospital. METHODS: This was a single-center, retrospective quality improvement study at a community, teaching children’s hospital. All pediatric and neonatal inpatients with active antimicrobial orders between July 2018 and March 2019 were included in the study, and endpoints were compared with data from July 2017- March 2018. Antimicrobial courses were prospectively audited by a multidisciplinary AMS team, and feedback was provided to the primary teams during Handshake Stewardship rounds. The primary endpoint was a number of interventions made and the corresponding acceptance rates. The secondary endpoint was days of therapy (DOT) per 1000 patient-days. Descriptive statistics were performed on all continuous and categorical data as appropriate. RESULTS: Of 2238 antimicrobial courses reviewed, 710 (32%) required intervention, and 86% of the interventions made were accepted. The top 3 indications evaluated were respiratory (n = 522, 23%), sepsis/bacteremia (n = 351, 16%), and surgical prophylaxis (n = 266, 12%). Of the respiratory courses reviewed, there were 228 opportunities for antimicrobial optimization. The most common interventions were: bug-drug optimization (n = 208, 29%), discontinuation of anti-infective (n = 136, 19%), and dose optimization (n = 120, 17%). No significant difference was observed for overall, ceftriaxone, meropenem, and vancomycin DOT pre- and post-implementation of Handshake Stewardship. However, a statistically significant reduction in DOTs was observed for piperacillin–tazobactam (15.2 vs. 7.4, P = 0.004) and a nonsignificant reduction in meropenem (9.5 vs. 6.2). CONCLUSION: Rounding-based, Handshake AMS was associated with overall high intervention acceptance rates and a reduction in commonly utilized broad-spectrum antimicrobials. DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.