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Anatomy of a successful stewardship intervention: Improving perioperative prescribing in penicillin-allergic patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2021

Mary Elizabeth Sexton*
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Merin Elizabeth Kuruvilla
Affiliation:
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Francis A. Wolf
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Grant C. Lynde
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Zanthia Wiley
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Author for correspondence: Mary Elizabeth Sexton, E-mail: marybeth.sexton@emory.edu

Abstract

Objective:

To evaluate whether a series of quality improvement interventions to promote safe perioperative use of cephalosporins in penicillin-allergic patients improved use of first-line antibiotics and decreased costs.

Design:

Before-and-after trial following several educational interventions.

Setting:

Academic medical center.

Patients:

This study included patients undergoing a surgical procedure involving receipt of a perioperative antibiotic other than a penicillin or carbapenem between January 1, 2017, and August 31, 2019. Patients with and without a penicillin allergy label in their electronic medical record were compared with respect to the percentage who received a cephalosporin and average antibiotic cost per patient.

Methods:

A multidisciplinary team from infectious diseases, allergy, anesthesiology, surgery, and pharmacy surveyed anesthesiology providers about their use of perioperative cephalosporins in penicillin-allergic patients. Using findings from that survey, the team designed a decision-support algorithm for safe utilization and provided 2 educational forums to introduce this algorithm, emphasizing the safety of cefazolin or cefuroxime in penicillin-allergic patients without history of a severe delayed hypersensitivity reaction.

Results:

The percentage of penicillin-allergic patients receiving a perioperative cephalosporin improved from ∼34% to >80% following algorithm implementation and the associated educational interventions. This increase in cephalosporin use was associated with a ∼50% reduction in antibiotic cost per penicillin-allergic patient. No significant adverse reactions were reported.

Conclusions:

An educational antibiotic stewardship intervention produced a significant change in clinician behavior. A simple intervention can have a significant impact, although further study is needed regarding whether this response is sustained and whether an educational intervention is similarly effective in other healthcare systems.

Type
Original Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America

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Footnotes

PREVIOUS PRESENTATION. Preliminary data from this study were presented as an oral abstract at the SHEA conference in Boston, Massachusetts on April 26, 2019.

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