1038. Impact of an Electronic Antibiotic Timeout on the Utilization of Frequently Prescribed Antibiotics in Hospitalized Patients

BACKGROUND: Methods to operationalize antibiotic timeouts (ATO) among hospitalized patients are often constrained by the high volume of antibiotic orders that surpass the capabilities of the antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) to intervene. Houston Methodist Hospital implemented a streamlined electronic ATO process that alerted providers to evaluate the need for continued antibiotics on day 4 of predefined anti-infective therapy. Unresolved alerts were reviewed by clinical pharmacists the following day. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of this electronic ATO on frequently prescribed antibiotics. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study in a 924-bed quaternary care hospital comparing days of therapy (DOT) in patients admitted prior to (February 2017 – January 2018) and after implementing an ATO process (March 2018 – February 2019). Antibiotics evaluated included vancomycin, cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, and meropenem. ATO alert logic was simulated retrospectively to capture the pre-ATO cohort. The primary outcome was mean composite DOT per patient admission. Secondary outcomes included total hospitalization cost, Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) rates. RESULTS: A total of 8,458 patients met ATO alert criteria for inclusion in the pre-ATO timeframe and 6,901 patients with an ATO alert in the post-ATO group; 2,642 (38%) prompted a pharmacists’ review. The average composite DOT was 11.5 per admission in the pre-ATO cohort compared with 11.1 in the post-ATO cohort (P = 0.02). After multivariate linear regression, the ATO was significantly associated with a decrease of 0.5 DOT per patient admission (P < 0.001). Other factors associated with a reduction in DOT included age (P < 0.001), service line (P = 0.003), and admission source (P = 0.031). Mean hospital costs per admission were significantly reduced in the post-ATO group: $67,613 vs. $66,615 (P = 0.01). There was no difference in rates of CDI and MDRO. CONCLUSION: Implementation of our electronic ATO process demonstrated significant reductions in overall DOT for frequently prescribed antibiotics and decreased total hospital costs across a diverse patient population. This process provides a real-world strategy to operationalize a large-scale ATO as an adjunct to an ASP. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.