Atrial Fibrillation after RSV Vaccination Among Older Adults.

RSV vaccine clinical trials reported higher frequencies of atrial fibrillation in intervention groups compared to control. In this large, population-based, propensity-matched study, we found RSV vaccine was not associated with increased risk of new-onset or recurrent atrial fibrillation within 1-42 days compared to influenza or Tdap vaccines.

Multicenter Cohort Study of Ceftaroline Versus Daptomycin for Treatment of Methicillin-Resistant Bloodstream Infection.

Background: Observational data suggest ceftaroline may be effective for methicillin-resistant (MRSA) bloodstream infection (BSI), but comparative data with standard of care are limited. This analysis compares the outcomes of MRSA BSI treated with ceftaroline or daptomycin.

Methods: Multicenter, retrospective, observational cohort study of adult patients with MRSA BSI from 2010 to 2017.

Using diagnostic stewardship to reduce rates, healthcare expenditures and accurately identify cases of hospital-onset infection.

Objective: Lack of judicious testing can result in the incorrect diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), unnecessary CDI treatment, increased costs and falsely augmented hospital-acquired infection (HAI) rates. We evaluated facility-wide interventions used at the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) to reduce healthcare-onset, healthcare-facility-associated CDI (HO-HCFA CDI), including the use of diagnostic stewardship with test ordering criteria.

Design: We conducted a retrospective study to assess the effectiveness of measures implemented to reduce the rate of HO-HCFA CDI at the VASDHS from fiscal year (FY)2015 to FY2018.

Ceftaroline-associated Encephalopathy in Patients With Severe Renal Impairment.

Encephalopathy complicates beta-lactam therapy, particularly with impaired renal function, though no studies have reported ceftaroline-associated encephalopathy. Among 28 patients with estimated glomerular filtration rates <30 mL/min who received ≥5 days of ceftaroline, 3 developed encephalopathy. Ceftaroline, when dosed supra-therapeutically for serious infections, may be a cause of antibiotic-associated encephalopathy.

Low Rates of Vaccination for Herpes Zoster in Older People Living With HIV.

Herpes zoster (HZ) occurs at a higher age-specific rate in people living with HIV (PLWH) than in the general population. We implemented a quality improvement study to assess herpes zoster vaccine (HZV) usage among PLWH, assess HZV usage after additional reminders/prompts, and identify barriers to HZV among older PLWH. HZV rates in PLWH were determined in six institutions with varying payment structures.

Measuring patient satisfaction in the pharmacy specialty immunization clinic: a pharmacist-run Immunization Clinic at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System.

Objective: The aim was to measure patient satisfaction with the Pharmacy Specialty Immunization Clinic (PSIC), a pharmacist-run vaccination clinic.

Methods: Patient satisfaction was measured using a non-validated instrument containing 10 items with a five-point Likert scale (strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree and strongly disagree). Patients who were seen at the PSIC and who received at least one vaccination were eligible to take part in the patient satisfaction survey.