Infectious diseases and therapy
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Palivizumab is indicated for the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in high-risk children. Previous palivizumab utilization studies examined prior authorization claims but did not examine utilization within insured populations as a whole. This study describes outpatient palivizumab utilization trends and characterizes high-risk infants receiving palivizumab within Medicaid- and commercially insured populations. ⋯ AstraZeneca.
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Approximately 30% of all outpatient antimicrobials are inappropriately prescribed. Currently, antimicrobial prescribing patterns in emergency departments (ED) are not well described. Determining inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing patterns and opportunities for interventions by antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASP) are needed. ⋯ Consistent with national outpatient prescribing, inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in the ED occurred in 39% of cases with the highest rates observed among patients with bronchitis, URTI, and SSTI. Antimicrobial stewardship programs may benefit by focusing on initiatives for these conditions among ED patients. Moreover, creation of local guideline pocketbooks for these and other conditions may serve to improve prescribing practices and meet the Core Elements of Outpatient Stewardship recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Urgent care centers represent a high-volume outpatient setting where antibiotics are prescribed frequently but resources for antimicrobial stewardship may be scarce. In 2015, our pharmacist-led Emergency Department (ED) culture follow-up program was expanded to include two urgent care (UC) sites within the same health system. The UC program is conducted by ED and infectious diseases clinical pharmacists as well as PGY1 pharmacy residents using a collaborative practice agreement (CPA). The purpose of this study was to describe the pharmacist-led UC culture follow-up program and its impact on pharmacist workload. ⋯ A pharmacist-led culture follow-up program conducted using a CPA was able to be expanded to UC sites within the same health system using existing clinical pharmacy staff along with PGY1 pharmacy residents. Service expansion resulted in minimal increase in pharmacist workload. Adding UC culture follow-up services to an existing ED program can allow health systems to expand antimicrobial stewardship initiatives to satellite locations.
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Anti-staphylococcal penicillins are generally accepted as first-line therapy for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia, but their use may be limited by interstitial nephritis and acute kidney injury. Alternatives include first-generation cephalosporins including cefazolin. ⋯ Risk of nephrotoxicity is increased with nafcillin compared with cefazolin. Cefazolin should considered as a safer alternative to nafcillin for select patients with MSSA bacteremia.
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Cost-containment strategies are shifting the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) from inpatient to outpatient settings. Current standard of care (SoC) requires multiple-dose regimens, which are associated with high hospitalization rates and high costs. Oritavancin, a new single-dose antibiotic for ABSSSI, may be suitable for outpatient therapy. This analysis evaluates the effectiveness, costs, and resource utilization of oritavancin vs. SoC in a real-world, outpatient setting. ⋯ Oritavancin is well suited for the outpatient treatment of ABSSSI. Compared with SoC, oritavancin offers comparable effectiveness, is more economical, and requires fewer healthcare resources.