Development of a 51-hospital Chicagoland regional antibiogram and comparison to local hospital and national surveillance data.

Objective: To develop a regional antibiogram within the Chicagoland metropolitan area and to compare regional susceptibilities against individual hospitals within the area and national surveillance data.

Design: Multicenter retrospective analysis of antimicrobial susceptibility data from 2017 and comparison to local institutions and national surveillance data.

Setting And Participants: The analysis included 51 hospitals from the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Metropolitan Statistical Area within the state of Illinois.

Impact of Mandatory Infectious Diseases Consultation and Real-time Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist Intervention on Bacteremia Bundle Adherence.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of infectious diseases consultation (IDC) and a real-time antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) review on the management of bacteremia (SAB).

Methods: This retrospective study included adult inpatients with SAB from January 2016 to December 2018 at 7 hospitals. Outcomes were compared between 3 time periods: before mandatory IDC and AMS review (period 1), after mandatory IDC and before AMS review (period 2), and after mandatory IDC and AMS review (period 3).

Comparison of emergency department to hospital antibiograms: Influence of patient risk factors on susceptibility.

Objectives: Traditional antibiograms use local resistance patterns and susceptibility data to guide empiric antimicrobial therapy selection. However, antibiograms are rarely unit-specific and do not account for patient-specific risk factors.

Methods: This retrospective, single-center descriptive study used culture and susceptibility data from January 1 to December 31, 2016 to develop an Emergency Department (ED)-specific antibiogram and compare the antimicrobial susceptibilities of the most commonly identified organisms to the hospital antibiogram.

Predictors of Time to Effective and Optimal Antimicrobial Therapy in Patients With Positive Blood Cultures Identified via Molecular Rapid Diagnostic Testing.

Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs integrated with rapid diagnostic tests optimize patient outcomes and reduce time to effective therapy (TTET) and time to optimal therapy (TTOT). This study identifies predictors of TTET and TTOT among patients with positive blood cultures and identifies limitations to current TTOT definitions and outcomes.

Effect of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) Alone versus MALDI-TOF MS Combined with Real-Time Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions on Time to Optimal Antimicrobial Therapy in Patients with Positive Blood Cultures.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) decreases the time to organism identification and improves clinical and financial outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of MALDI-TOF MS alone versus MALDI-TOF MS combined with real-time, pharmacist-driven, antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) intervention on patient outcomes. This single-center, pre-post, quasiexperimental study evaluated hospitalized patients with positive blood cultures identified via MALDI-TOF MS combined with prospective AMS intervention compared to a control cohort with MALDI-TOF MS identification without AMS intervention.

Adherence to and Outcomes Associated with a Clostridium difficile Guideline at a Large Teaching Institution.

Purpose: The incidence and virulence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) has recently increased. National CDI treatment guidelines stratify patients based on clinical symptoms and recommend treatment based on severity of illness. In 2009, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital (Park Ridge, Illinois) adopted guidelines with treatment algorithms identical to the national guidelines.

Development of a urinary-specific antibiogram for gram-negative isolates: impact of patient risk factors on susceptibility.

Background: Traditional antibiograms guide clinicians in selecting appropriate empiric antimicrobials, but they lack data on syndrome/disease-specific susceptibility, isolate location, polymicrobial infections, and patient risk factors. The aim of this study was to develop a urinary-specific antibiogram and to evaluate the impact of risk factors on antimicrobial susceptibility.

Methods: This retrospective descriptive study used culture and susceptibility data from January 1 to December 31, 2012.

Behind closed doors: medication storage and disposal in the home.

Background: More than half of all medications are inappropriately prescribed, dispensed, or sold and only 50% of patients take their medications correctly. Oftentimes, unwanted or expired medications are saved for later use, stored indefinitely, or disposed via the sink, toilet, or garbage.

Objective: To determine how residents in Cook County, Illinois, use, store, and dispose of their medications to assess the possible impact of these medications on health care and the environment.