Antimicrobial Stewardship for Enterobacterales Bacteremia Management

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Status: Not yet enrolling

Conditions: Infections

Treatments: Behavioral: multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06257147

ASP BSI Protocol

Details and patient eligibility

About

We hypothesize that a multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention incorporating physician education, prospective chart review with antibiotic recommendation, and provision of follow-up by a multidisciplinary antibiotic stewardship team, is more effective than physician education and reminders alone in improving physicians' prescription of short-course and oral-switch antibiotic therapy for patients with bloodstream infections due to Enterobacterales (BSI-E).

This study is to:

1. determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention in improving physicians' prescription of short-course antibiotic therapy for BSI-E
2. determine the effectiveness of a multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention in improving physicians' de-escalation to oral antibiotic therapy for BSI-E

Full description

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global threat, causing 5 million deaths globally in 2019. One of the crucial strategies to control the emergence and spread of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) is to minimize unnecessary antibiotics exposure.

Shorter duration of antibiotic therapy and oral-switch therapy for bloodstream infection due to Enterobacterales (BSI-E) had demonstrated similar treatment success and clinical outcomes as compared with longer courses in randomized controlled trials. Despite the release of such data, clinicians may be reluctant to shortern duration of therapy for BSI-E and adopt oral-switch approach.

This study aims to determine the optimal approach to aid clinicians in adopting evidence-based practice in a clinical setting. This study is a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial in the medical wards of an acute hospital. A cluster, as the unit of randomization, is a medical ward. Medical wards will be randomized to three groups: (1) physician education only; (2) physician education and paper reminder; (3) multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention. The prescription of antibiotic therapy by treating physicians and outcomes of patients with BSI-E will be studied.

Patients' antibiotics regimen and clinical outcomes in the three groups will be compared.

Enrollment: 420 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• aged ≥18 years;
• hospitalization in one of the medical wards of the hospital; and
• isolation of Enterobacterales in at least one blood culture bottle, where Enterobacterales include Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Proteus, Enterobacter, Serratia, Citrobacter, Providencia and Morganella species.

Exclusion criteria

• concomitant isolation of pathogens other than Enterobacterales in blood or other relevant clinical specimens;
• infections requiring prolonged courses of antibiotics, such as intra-abdominal abscess, central nervous system infection, endocarditis, lung abscess or empyema, osteomyelitis, and prostatitis;
• focus of infection not controlled;
• nosocomial infection with onset within 7 days; or
• Presence of neutropenia, allogenic stem cell transplant within one year, use of high-dose steroid (>40mg prednisolone or equivalent for > 2 weeks), or
• died before day 7 will be excluded from the analysis, or
• already on more than 7 days of antibiotics for BSI-E at the time of screening.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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420 participants in 3 patient groups, including a placebo group

Group 1 wards (physician education)

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

For Group 1 wards, physician education will be provided. All physicians treating patients in general medical wards will undergo a training session at the start of the study. Education content includes latest evidence on short-course antibiotic therapy and criteria for de-escalation to oral antibiotics for BSI-E. The educational materials will be prepared by Infectious Diseases physicians, and will be presented during one of the monthly departmental meetings, which routinely involve physician education. Ample time will be provided for answering questions from physicians. During the study period, the same material will be presented to new medical staff joining the department. The educational materials will be sent to all physicians in the department regardless of their attendance of the meeting. Patients will receive standard of care.

Treatment:

Behavioral: multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention

Group 2 wards (physician education + paper reminder)

Active Comparator group

Description:

For Group 2 wards, physician education will be provided as in Group 1. A paper reminder will be attached in the medical records of all consecutive patients on the first working day after Enterobacterale is isolated from blood culture. The reminder documents (1) the clinical and host criteria that should be considered for prescribing short-course antibiotic therapy, and (2) options of oral antibiotics to complete the treatment course. These recommendations are based on results of the trials demonstrating non-inferiority of short-course and oral-switch therapy for BSI-E.

Treatment:

Behavioral: multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention

Group 3 wards (multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention)

Active Comparator group

Description:

Group 3 wards will receive a multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention. Physician education will be provided as in Group 1. All consecutive patients fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria for study eligibility will be assessed by an Antibiotic Stewardship team. A trained nurse will first assess the patients for clinical and host criteria to determine eligibility for short-course antibiotic therapy. The antibiotic susceptibility test results and the prescribed antibiotics treatment will be reviewed. An Infectious Diseases physician will subsequently make written recommendations for the duration and choice of antibiotic therapy, and provide an appointment within 2 weeks after hospital discharge to review patients' clinical condition when indicated.

Treatment:

Behavioral: multifaceted antibiotic stewardship intervention