2373. Impact of a Change in Testing Strategy for Clostridioides difficile Infection on a Publicly Reported Metric and Treatment Days of Therapy

BACKGROUND: In an effort to optimize diagnostic testing for Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) our health system changed from stand-alone PCR testing to a “2-step” approach wherein all positive PCR results reflexed to an EIA. We report the effects of this change on publicly reported CDI metrics and treatment days of therapy (DOT). METHODS: The setting includes 10 Cleveland Clinic Health System hospitals in northeast Ohio and one in Florida. On June 12, 2018, 9 NE Ohio hospitals changed from PCR alone to PCR followed by EIA. Stand-alone PCR testing remained at one and GDH / EIA / PCR for discordant for another. Testing volumes were obtained from the microbiology laboratory. C. difficile LabID event SIRs were obtained from NHSN. Public reporting interpretative categories were identified based on SIR for second half of 2018. DOT for CDI agents were obtained from an antimicrobial stewardship database. RESULTS: Among hospitals that changed strategy the volume of PCR testing and the percent PCR + was similar between time periods. EIA positivity ranged from 23% to 53%. 4/11 hospitals improved their public reporting category: 3/9 that changed testing strategy and 1/2 that did not (Table 1). Two of 3 that changed strategy and improved public reporting also had a decrease in DOT. DOT increased in the 2 hospitals that did not change strategy. CONCLUSION: Six months after adopting a 2-step CDI testing strategy 7 of 9 hospitals had a lower SIR with 3 also demonstrating an improvement in public reporting category favorably impacting reputational and reimbursement risk for our healthcare system. CDI agent DOT was similar before and after the change. The impact of choice of test on publicly reported metrics demonstrates the difficulty of utilizing a proxy for hospital onset CDI, the CDI LabID event, as a measure of quality of care provided. [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.