Development of an Electronic Algorithm to Target Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship Efforts for Acute Bronchitis and Pharyngitis.

2022

ofac273

07/2022

2328-8957

Background: A major challenge for antibiotic stewardship programs is the lack of accurate and accessible electronic data to target interventions. We developed and validated separate electronic algorithms to identify inappropriate antibiotic use for adult outpatients with bronchitis and pharyngitis.

Methods: We used International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, diagnostic codes to identify patient encounters for acute bronchitis and pharyngitis at outpatient practices between 3/15/17 and 3/14/18. Exclusion criteria included immunocompromising conditions, complex chronic conditions, and concurrent infections. We randomly selected 300 eligible subjects each with bronchitis and pharyngitis. Inappropriate antibiotic use based on chart review served as the gold standard for assessment of the electronic algorithm, which was constructed using only data in the electronic data warehouse. Criteria for appropriate prescribing, choice of antibiotic, and duration were based on established guidelines.

Results: Of 300 subjects with bronchitis, 167 (55.7%) received an antibiotic inappropriately based on chart review. The electronic algorithm demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 95.3% specificity for detection of inappropriate prescribing. Of 300 subjects with pharyngitis, 94 (31.3%) had an incorrect prescribing decision. Among 29 subjects with a positive rapid streptococcal antigen test, 27 (93.1%) received an appropriate antibiotic and 29 (100%) received the correct duration. The electronic algorithm demonstrated very high sensitivity and specificity for all outcomes.

Conclusions: Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for bronchitis and pharyngitis is common. Electronic algorithms for identifying inappropriate prescribing, antibiotic choice, and duration showed excellent test characteristics. These algorithms could be used to efficiently assess prescribing among practices and individual clinicians. Interventions based on these algorithms should be tested in future work.

10.1093/ofid/ofac273

Open Forum Infect Dis

35854991

COVID-19 and Antibiotic Prescribing in Pediatric Primary Care.

2022

2022 02 01

1098-4275

<p><strong>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: </strong>With the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, pediatric ambulatory encounter volume and antibiotic prescribing both decreased; however, the durability of these reductions in pediatric primary care in the United States has not been assessed.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We conducted a retrospective observational study to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures on antibiotic prescribing in 27 pediatric primary care practices. Encounters from January 1, 2018, through June 30, 2021, were included. The primary outcome was monthly antibiotic prescriptions per 1000 patients. Interrupted time series analysis was performed.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>There were 69 327 total antibiotic prescriptions from April through December in 2019 and 18 935 antibiotic prescriptions during the same months in 2020, a 72.7% reduction. The reduction in prescriptions at visits for respiratory tract infection (RTI) accounted for 87.3% of this decrease. Using interrupted time series analysis, overall antibiotic prescriptions decreased from 31.6 to 6.4 prescriptions per 1000 patients in April 2020 (difference of -25.2 prescriptions per 1000 patients; 95% CI: -32.9 to -17.5). This was followed by a nonsignificant monthly increase in antibiotic prescriptions, with prescribing beginning to rebound from April to June 2021. Encounter volume also immediately decreased, and while overall encounter volume quickly started to recover, RTI encounter volume returned more slowly.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Reductions in antibiotic prescribing in pediatric primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic were sustained, only beginning to rise in 2021, primarily driven by reductions in RTI encounters. Reductions in viral RTI transmission likely played a substantial role in reduced RTI visits and antibiotic prescriptions.</p>

10.1542/peds.2021-053079

Pediatrics

35102416

Why Is the Electronic Health Record So Challenging for Research and Clinical Care?

2021

2021 Jul 19

2511-705X

<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong> The electronic health record (EHR) has become increasingly ubiquitous. At the same time, health professionals have been turning to this resource for access to data that is needed for the delivery of health care and for clinical research. There is little doubt that the EHR has made both of these functions easier than earlier days when we relied on paper-based clinical records. Coupled with modern database and data warehouse systems, high-speed networks, and the ability to share clinical data with others are large number of challenges that arguably limit the optimal use of the EHR OBJECTIVES:  Our goal was to provide an exhaustive reference for those who use the EHR in clinical and research contexts, but also for health information systems professionals as they design, implement, and maintain EHR systems.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong> This study includes a panel of 24 biomedical informatics researchers, information technology professionals, and clinicians, all of whom have extensive experience in design, implementation, and maintenance of EHR systems, or in using the EHR as clinicians or researchers. All members of the panel are affiliated with Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and have experience with a variety of different EHR platforms and systems and how they have evolved over time.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong> Each of the authors has shared their knowledge and experience in using the EHR in a suite of 20 short essays, each representing a specific challenge and classified according to a functional hierarchy of interlocking facets such as usability and usefulness, data quality, standards, governance, data integration, clinical care, and clinical research.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong> We provide here a set of perspectives on the challenges posed by the EHR to clinical and research users.</p>

10.1055/s-0041-1731784

Methods Inf Med

34282602

Improving Care Management in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: An RCT.

2021

2021 Jul 19

1098-4275

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>To compare the effectiveness of care management combined with a patient portal versus a portal alone for communication among children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Randomized controlled trial conducted at 11 primary care practices. Children aged 5 to 12 years old with ADHD were randomly assigned to care management + portal or portal alone. The portal included parent-reported treatment preferences and goals, medication side effects, and parent- and teacher-reported ADHD symptom scales. Care managers provided education to families; communicated quarterly with parents, teachers, and clinicians; and coordinated care. The main outcome, changes in the Vanderbilt Parent Rating Scale (VPRS) score as a measure of ADHD symptoms, was assessed using intention-to-treat analysis.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>A total of 303 eligible children (69% male; 46% Black) were randomly assigned, and 273 (90%) completed the study. During the 9-month study, parents in the care management + portal arm communicated inconsistently with care managers (mean 2.2; range 0-6) but similarly used the portal (mean 2.3 vs 2.2) as parents in the portal alone arm. In multivariate models, VPRS scores decreased over time (Adjusted β = -.015; 95% confidence interval -0.023 to -0.07) in both groups, but there were no intervention-by-time effects (Adjusted β = .000; 95% confidence interval -0.011 to 0.012) between groups. Children who received ≥2 care management sessions had greater reductions in VPRS scores than those with fewer sessions.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Results did not provide evidence that care management combined with a patient portal was different from portal use alone among children with ADHD. Both groups demonstrated similar reductions in ADHD symptoms. Those families with greater care management engagement demonstrated greater reductions than those with less engagement.</p>

10.1542/peds.2020-031518

Pediatrics

34281997

Identifying Electronic Health Record Usability And Safety Challenges In Pediatric Settings.

2018

1752-1759

2018 11

1544-5208

<p>Pediatric populations are uniquely vulnerable to the usability and safety challenges of electronic health records (EHRs), particularly those related to medication, yet little is known about the specific issues contributing to hazards. To understand specific usability issues and medication errors in the care of children, we analyzed 9,000 patient safety reports, made in the period 2012-17, from three different health care institutions that were likely related to EHR use. Of the 9,000 reports, 3,243 (36&nbsp;percent) had a usability issue that contributed to the medication event, and 609 (18.8&nbsp;percent) of the 3,243 might have resulted in patient harm. The general pattern of usability challenges and medication errors were the same across the three sites. The most common usability challenges were associated with system feedback and the visual display. The most common medication error was improper dosing.</p>

10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0699

Health Aff (Millwood)

30395517

Incidence of Healthcare-Associated Influenza-Like Illness After a Primary Care Encounter Among Young Children.

2018

2018 Mar 22

2048-7207

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite potential respiratory virus transmission in pediatric clinics, little is known about the risk of healthcare-associated viral infections attributable to outpatient encounters. We evaluated whether exposure to a pediatric clinic visit was associated with subsequent influenza-like illness (ILI).</p>

<p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using electronic health record data, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of all children aged &lt;6 years who presented to a provider in a 29-clinic pediatric primary care network for a non-ILI-related encounter over 2 respiratory virus seasons (September 1, 2012, to April 30, 2014). We defined a risk period for potential healthcare-associated (HA) ILI of 1 to 8 days after a non-ILI clinic visit and identified all cases of ILI to compare the incidences of ILI visits 1 to 8 days after a non-ILI encounter and those of visits &gt;8 days after a non-ILI encounter.</p>

<p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 149987 children &lt;6 years of age (mean age, 2.5 years) with ≥1 non-ILI visit during the study period, 531928 total encounters and 13951 (2.9%) ILI encounters were identified; 1941 (13.9%) occurred within the HA-ILI risk window. The incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for ILI 1 to 8 days after compared with ILI &gt;8 days after a non-ILI visit during season 1 were 1.36 (95% confidence interval, 1.22-1.52) among children ≥2 years of age and 1.01 (95% confidence interval, 0.93-1.09) among children &lt;2 years of age. Estimates remained consistent during season 2 and with a risk window of 3, 4, or 9 days.</p>

<p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Pediatric clinic visits during a respiratory virus season were significantly associated with an increased incidence of subsequent ILI among children aged 2 to 6 years but not among those aged &lt;2 years. These findings support the hypothesis that respiratory virus transmission in a pediatric clinic can result in HA ILI in young children.</p>

10.1093/jpids/piy023

J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc

29579251

Using electronic medical record data to report laboratory adverse events.

2017

2017 Feb 01

1365-2141

<p>Despite the importance of adverse event (AE) reporting, AEs are under-reported on clinical trials. We hypothesized that electronic medical record (EMR) data can ascertain laboratory-based AEs more accurately than those ascertained manually. EMR data on 12 AEs for patients enrolled on two Children's Oncology Group (COG) trials at one institution were extracted, processed and graded. When compared to gold standard chart data, COG AE report sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were 0-21·1% and 20-100%, respectively. EMR sensitivity and PPV were &gt;98·2% for all AEs. These results demonstrate that EMR-based AE ascertainment and grading substantially improves laboratory AE reporting accuracy.</p>

10.1111/bjh.14538

Br. J. Haematol.

28146330

Maternal health literacy and late initiation of immunizations among an inner-city birth cohort.

2011

386-94

2011 Apr

1573-6628

<p>To determine if maternal health literacy influences early infant immunization status. Longitudinal prospective cohort study of 506 Medicaid-eligible mother-infant dyads. Immunization status at age 3 and 7&nbsp;months was assessed in relation to maternal health literacy measured at birth using the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (short version). Multivariable logistic regression quantified the effect of maternal health literacy on immunization status adjusting for the relevant covariates. The cohort consists of primarily African-American (87%), single (87%) mothers (mean age 23.4&nbsp;years). Health literacy was inadequate or marginal among 24% of mothers. Immunizations were up-to-date among 73% of infants at age 3&nbsp;months and 43% at 7&nbsp;months. Maternal health literacy was not significantly associated with immunization status at either 3 or 7&nbsp;months. In multivariable analysis, compared to infants who had delayed immunizations at 3&nbsp;months, infants with up-to-date immunizations at 3&nbsp;months were 11.3 times (95%CI 6.0-21.3) more likely to be up-to-date at 7&nbsp;months. The only strong predictors of up-to-date immunization status at 3&nbsp;months were maternal education (high school graduate or beyond) and attending a hospital-affiliated clinic. Though maternal health literacy is not associated with immunization status in this cohort, later immunization status is most strongly predicted by immunization status at 3&nbsp;months. These results further support the importance of intervening from an early age to ensure that infants are fully protected against vaccine preventable diseases.</p>

10.1007/s10995-010-0580-0

Matern Child Health J

20180003

Electronic health record-based decision support to improve asthma care: a cluster-randomized trial.

2010

e770-7

2010 Apr

1098-4275

<p><strong>OBJECTIVE: </strong>Asthma continues to be 1 of the most common chronic diseases of childhood and affects approximately 6 million US children. Although National Asthma Education Prevention Program guidelines exist and are widely accepted, previous studies have demonstrated poor clinician adherence across a variety of populations. We sought to determine if clinical decision support (CDS) embedded in an electronic health record (EHR) would improve clinician adherence to national asthma guidelines in the primary care setting.</p>

<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>We conducted a prospective cluster-randomized trial in 12 primary care sites over a 1-year period. Practices were stratified for analysis according to whether the site was urban or suburban. Children aged 0 to 18 years with persistent asthma were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for asthma. The 6 intervention-practice sites had CDS alerts imbedded in the EHR. Outcomes of interest were the proportion of children with at least 1 prescription for controller medication, an up-to-date asthma care plan, and the performance of office-based spirometry.</p>

<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Increases in the number of prescriptions for controller medications, over time, was 6% greater (P = .006) and 3% greater for spirometry (P = .04) in the intervention urban practices. Filing an up-to-date asthma care plan improved 14% (P = .03) and spirometry improved 6% (P = .003) in the suburban practices with the intervention.</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSION: </strong>In our study, using a cluster-randomized trial design, CDS in the EHR, at the point of care, improved clinician compliance with National Asthma Education Prevention Program guidelines.</p>

10.1542/peds.2009-1385

Pediatrics

20231191

Delayed antimicrobial therapy increases mortality and organ dysfunction duration in pediatric sepsis.

2014

2409-17

11/2014

1530-0293

<p><strong>OBJECTIVES: </strong>Delayed antimicrobials are associated with poor outcomes in adult sepsis, but data relating antimicrobial timing to mortality and organ dysfunction in pediatric sepsis are limited. We sought to determine the impact of antimicrobial timing on mortality and organ dysfunction in pediatric patients with severe sepsis or septic shock.</p>

<p><strong>DESIGN: </strong>Retrospective observational study.</p>

<p><strong>SETTING: </strong>PICU at an academic medical center.</p>

<p><strong>PATIENTS: </strong>One hundred thirty patients treated for severe sepsis or septic shock.</p>

<p><strong>INTERVENTIONS: </strong>None.</p>

<p><strong>MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: </strong>We determined if hourly delays from sepsis recognition to initial and first appropriate antimicrobial administration were associated with PICU mortality (primary outcome); ventilator-free, vasoactive-free, and organ failure-free days; and length of stay. Median time from sepsis recognition to initial antimicrobial administration was 140 minutes (interquartile range, 74-277 min) and to first appropriate antimicrobial was 177 minutes (90-550 min). An escalating risk of mortality was observed with each hour delay from sepsis recognition to antimicrobial administration, although this did not achieve significance until 3 hours. For patients with more than 3-hour delay to initial and first appropriate antimicrobials, the odds ratio for PICU mortality was 3.92 (95% CI, 1.27-12.06) and 3.59 (95% CI, 1.09-11.76), respectively. These associations persisted after adjustment for individual confounders and a propensity score analysis. After controlling for severity of illness, the odds ratio for PICU mortality increased to 4.84 (95% CI, 1.45-16.2) and 4.92 (95% CI, 1.30-18.58) for more than 3-hour delay to initial and first appropriate antimicrobials, respectively. Initial antimicrobial administration more than 3 hours was also associated with fewer organ failure-free days (16 [interquartile range, 1-23] vs 20 [interquartile range, 6-26]; p = 0.04).</p>

<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>Delayed antimicrobial therapy was an independent risk factor for mortality and prolonged organ dysfunction in pediatric sepsis.</p>

10.1097/CCM.0000000000000509

Crit. Care Med.

25148597