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Background Although warfarin is highly effective, management of patients prescribed warfarin is complex due to its narrow therapeutic window. Objective To evaluate the impact of a formal warfarin discharge education program (WDEP) on hospital readmission and treatment costs in patients who received warfarin therapy. Setting Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset in Somerville, New Jersey, USA. Method In this interventional cohort study, patients were assigned to either the WDEP group or the usual care group. The effects of the WDEP on readmission within 90 days after discharge were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models. Factors influencing treatment cost were identified using generalized linear model with log-link function and gamma distribution. Main outcome measure Hospital readmission within 90 days and treatment costs associated with hospital readmission. Results Among 692 eligible patients, 203 in each group were matched using propensity scores and there were no statistically significant differences in the patient baseline characteristics between two groups. The risk of all-cause readmission within 90 days was significantly lower in the WDEP group compared to the usual care group (relative risk = 0.46, 95% CI 0.28-0.76). The treatment costs associated with hospital readmission in the WDEP group were 19% lower than those in the usual care group after adjusting for the study variables. Conclusion A formal, individualized WDEP provided by pharmacists resulted in significant reduction of readmission and treatment costs. The economic burden of treatment costs associated with warfarin can be controlled if well-organized warfarin education is provided to patients who received warfarin therapy.

Background In 2003, many hospitals in Québec, Canada experienced an increase in the incidence of healthcare-associated C. difficile infection (HA-CDI) associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This increase was associated with the dissemination of the NAP1/027 strain. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiology of HA-CDI in two tertiary care hospitals based in Montréal from 2003 to 2019. Methods Surveillance for HA-CDI was performed using standard definitions from 2003 to 2019 at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) and Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH), in Montréal, Québec. C. difficile was isolated from stool specimens using standard methods. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis and ribotyping were performed to determine genotype. Antibiotic utilization and infection control interventions implemented over the same time period were reviewed. Results A total of 4314 cases of CDAD were identified during the study period: 2295 at the RVH and 2019 at the MGH. The incidence decreased from 29.5 to 5.9 cases per 10,000 patient-days between 2003 and 2019 at the RVH and from 23.8 to 3.9 cases per 10,000 patient-days at the MGH. Of the 124 isolates available for genotyping in 2003, 112 were NAP1 (90.3%) compared to 5 out of 53 (9.4%) in 2019. Fluoroquinolone utilization decreased from 230 to 139 DDDs per 1,000 patient-days between 2003 and 2019, whereas total antibiotic utilization increased from 1296 to 1550 DDDs per 1,000 patient-days. Infection Control interventions included empirically placing patients with diarrhea on precautions, intensified cleaning measures, formal antibiotic stewardship, introduction of a real-time PCR C. difficile test in June 2010, and a move to a facility with only single rooms at the RVH in April 2015. Incidence of HA-CDI at the RVH and MGH and antibiotic utilization between 2003 and 2019 Conclusion An important change in HA-CDI epidemiology was observed in two Canadian tertiary care hospitals based in Montréal between 2003 and 2019. There was a significant decrease in incidence of HA-CDI and a genotype shift from a predominance of NAP1 strains to non-NAP1 strains. Utilization of fluoroquinolones, to which the NAP1 strain is resistant, concurrently decreased. Infection control interventions targeting isolation, diagnosis, disinfection, and antibiotic stewardship have contributed to the major observed reduction in HA-CDI incidence. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

BackgroundThe first Multi-center Medication Reconciliation Quality Improvement Study (MARQUIS1) demonstrated that implementation of a medication reconciliation best practices toolkit decreased total unintentional medication discrepancies in five hospitals. We sought to implement the MARQUIS toolkit in more diverse hospitals, incorporating lessons learned from MARQUIS1.MethodsMARQUIS2 is a pragmatic, mentored implementation QI study which collected clinical and implementation outcomes. Sites implemented a revised toolkit, which included interventions from these domains: 1) best possible medication history (BPMH)-taking; 2) discharge medication reconciliation and patient/caregiver counseling; 3) identifying and defining clinician roles and responsibilities; 4) risk stratification; 5) health information technology improvements; 6) improved access to medication sources; 7) identification and correction of real-time discrepancies; and, 8) stakeholder engagement. Eight hospitalists mentored the sites via one site visit and monthly phone calls over the 18-month intervention period. Each site’s local QI team assessed opportunities to improve, implemented at least one of the 17 toolkit components, and accessed a variety of resources (e.g. implementation manual, webinars, and workshops). Outcomes to be assessed will include unintentional medication discrepancies per patient.DiscussionA mentored multi-center medication reconciliation QI initiative using a best practices toolkit was successfully implemented across 18 medical centers. The 18 participating sites varied in size, teaching status, location, and electronic health record (EHR) platform.We introduce barriers to implementation and lessons learned from MARQUIS1, such as the importance of utilizing dedicated, trained medication history takers, simple EHR solutions, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and the input of patients and families when improving medication reconciliation.

Background Rapid bacterial strain typing for nosocomial outbreak surveillance is critical for timely outbreak detection and implementation of appropriate infection control protocols in hospitals. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) remains the gold standard for strain typing, but it has the disadvantages of being time-consuming and costly. Transflection Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is a nondestructive and reagent-free technique for rapid microbial identification and subspecies-level discrimination. The potential of employing transflection FTIR spectroscopy as a rapid, real-time typing technique was evaluated in the present study. Methods Transflection FTIR spectra were acquired from vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) isolates obtained from rectal swabs (n = 36) of patients in 6 units at a Montreal hospital over a 3-month period and from environmental screening samples (n = 2). Upon confirmation as VRE using a transflection FTIR spectral database previously developed in our laboratory, isolates were further typed by unsupervised hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis of the FTIR spectral data with the use of a feature selection algorithm. Results Analysis of the FTIR data identified independent cases of VRE outbreak in 2 of 6 units; these outbreaks were confirmed retrospectively by PFGE. Based on the PFGE typing results for all 38 isolates included in this study, FTIR spectral analyses successfully identified 95% (n = 18) of isolates related to the outbreaks and 95% (n = 18) of non-outbreak-related isolates, resulting in a false-positive (n = 1), and a false-negative (n = 1), rate of 5%. Additionally, the two environmental isolates were identified as part of the outbreak from one of the outbreak-positive units. Conclusion The results in this study indicate that transflection FTIR spectroscopy-based typing can be considered as an alternative typing technique to PFGE, providing real-time results to track the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens within hospitals. Furthermore, when combined with the use of a transflection FTIR spectral database, both identification and typing of an isolate can be achieved from a single spectral measurement, thereby reducing the time and cost required for outbreak investigation. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Objective To describe students' perception of a paramedic shadowing experience (PSE) incorporated into a critical care advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotation based in a community hospital. Methods An electronic survey instrument was developed and distributed to students who completed a critical care APPE rotation and participated in a PSE to assess students' perception. Results Of 18 students, 13 completed the survey. Students rated the PSE highly in opportunity to be exposed to pre-hospital medicine (mean = 4.46 ± 0.66) and as beneficial in enhancing student understanding of interdisciplinary patient care (4.69 ± 0.48). Most students agreed that the PSE encouraged the application of knowledge in a real-world setting (4.38 ± 0.76). The majority of students strongly agreed that the PSE should be offered to future APPE students as part of a critical care rotation (4.69 ± 0.48). Conclusions The PSE was perceived by pharmacy students to be a beneficial experience and a unique opportunity to apply knowledge to patient care in a pre-hospital setting. A paramedic shadowing experience for APPE students represents a novel method of introducing pharmacy students to interdisciplinary patient care.