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Description of a pharmacist-driven safety algorithm in Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: Compliance, interventions, and good saves
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 June 2020
Abstract
To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-driven Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) safety bundle supported by leadership and to compare compliance before and after implementation.
Retrospective cohort study with descriptive and before-and-after analyses.
Tertiary-care academic medical center.
All patients with documented SAB, regardless of the source of infection, were included. Patients transitioned to palliative care were excluded from before-and-after analysis.
A pharmacist-driven safety bundle including documented clearance of bacteremia, echocardiography, removal of central venous catheters, and targeted intravenous therapy of at least 2 weeks duration was implemented in November 2015 and was supported by leadership with stepwise escalation for nonresponse. A descriptive analysis of all patients with SAB during the study period included pharmacy interventions, acceptance rates, and escalation rates. A pre–post implementation analysis of 100 sequential patients compared bundle compliance and descriptive parameters.
Overall, 391 interventions were made in the 20-month period following implementation, including 20 “good saves” avoiding potentially major adverse events. No statistically significant differences in complete bundle compliance were detected between the periods (74% vs 84%; P = .08). However, we detected a significant increase in echocardiography after the bundle was implemented (83% vs 94%; P = .02) and fewer patients received suboptimal definitive therapy after the bundle was implemented (10% vs 3%; P = .045).
This pharmacist-driven SAB safety bundle with leadership support showed improvement in process measures, which may have prevented major adverse events, even with available infectious diseases (ID) consultation. It provides a critical safety net for institutions without mandatory ID consultation or with limited antimicrobial stewardship resources.
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- © 2020 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved.
Footnotes
PREVIOUS PRESENTATION. These data were presented in a poster at the Vizient Consortium Pharmacy Network Meeting on December 2, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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