Evaluation of a Best-Practice Advisory for Primary Aldosteronism Screening.

Importance: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a common cause of secondary hypertension and an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Fewer than 2% to 4% of patients at risk are evaluated for PA. Objective: To develop and evaluate an electronic health record best-practice advisory (BPA) that assists with PA screening. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective quality improvement study was conducted at academic center outpatient clinics. Data analysis was performed between February and June 2023 and included adults with hypertension and at least 1 of the following: 4 or more current antihypertensive medications; hypokalemia; age younger than 35 years; or adrenal nodule(s). Patients previously tested for PA were excluded. Exposure: A noninterruptive BPA was developed to trigger for PA screening candidates seen in outpatient setting by clinicians who treat hypertension. The BPA included an order set for PA screening and a link to results interpretation guidance. Main Outcomes and Measures: (1) The number of PA screening candidates identified by the BPA between October 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022; (2) the rates of PA screening; and (3) the BPA use patterns, stratified by physician specialty were assessed. Results: Over 15 months, the BPA identified 14 603 unique candidates (mean [SD] age, 65.5 [16.9] years; 7300 women [49.9%]; 371 [2.5%] Asian, 2383 [16.3%] Black, and 11 225 [76.9%] White individuals) for PA screening, including 7028 (48.1%) with treatment-resistant hypertension, 6351 (43.5%) with hypokalemia, 1537 (10.5%) younger than 35 years, and 445 (3.1%) with adrenal nodule(s). In total, 2040 patients (14.0%) received orders for PA screening. Of these, 1439 patients (70.5%) completed the recommended screening within the system, and 250 (17.4%) had positive screening results. Most screening orders were placed by internists (40.0%) and family medicine physicians (28.1%). Family practitioners (80.3%) and internists (68.9%) placed most orders via the embedded order set, while specialists placed most orders (83.0%-95.4%) outside the BPA. Patients who received screening were younger and included more women and Black patients than those not screened. The likelihood of screening was higher among patients with obesity and dyslipidemia and lower in those with chronic kidney disease and established cardiovascular complications. Conclusions and Relevance: The study results suggest that noninterruptive BPAs are potentially promising PA screening-assistance tools, particularly among primary care physicians. Combined with artificial intelligence algorithms that optimize the detection yield, refined BPAs may contribute to personalized hypertension care.

A novel 2-step process for the management of inpatient beta-lactam allergy labels.

BACKGROUND: Inpatient beta-lactam allergy labels may increase the unnecessary use of aztreonam and non-beta-lactam antibiotics, which can then lead to more adverse events and increased health care costs, OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of a novel 2-step process (medication history review followed by risk stratification) on rates of beta-lactam delabeling, aztreonam use, and desensitizations on pediatric, adult, and obstetrics inpatients at a tertiary academic center. METHODS: We prospectively collected data on 700 patients who received inpatient consultation from the Beta-Lactam Allergy Evaluation Service between August 2021 and July 2022. Patients were delabeled either by medication review alone, drug challenge alone if with a low-risk history, or penicillin skin test followed by drug challenge if with a high-risk history. Generalized linear regression modeling was used to compare aztreonam days of therapy in the intervention year with the 2 prior years. Drug desensitizations were assessed by electronic chart review. RESULTS: Most of the patients (n = 656 of 700, 94%) had more than or equal to 1 beta-lactam allergy label removed, clarified, or both; 77.9% of these patients (n = 511 of 656) had 587 beta-lactam allergy labels removed. Nearly one-third (n = 149, 27.6%) had 162 allergy labels removed solely by medication history review. All 114 penicillin skin tests performed had negative results, and 98% (8 of 381) of the patients who underwent any drug challenge passed. Only 5.7% of the delabeled patients were relabeled. There was a 27% reduction in aztreonam use (P = .007). Beta-lactam desensitizations were reduced by 80%. CONCLUSION: A full-time inpatient beta-lactam allergy service using medication history review and risk stratification can safely and effectively remove inpatient beta-lactam allergy labels, reduce aztreonam use, and decrease beta-lactam desensitizations.

Pharmacist gender and physician acceptance of antibiotic stewardship recommendations: An analysis of the reducing overuse of antibiotics at discharge home intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To assess association of pharmacist gender with acceptance of antibiotic stewardship recommendations. DESIGN: A retrospective evaluation of the Reducing Overuse of Antibiotics at Discharge (ROAD) Home intervention. SETTING: The study was conducted from May to October 2019 in a single academic medical center. PARTICIPANTS: The study included patients receiving antibiotics on a hospitalist service who were nearing discharge. METHODS: During the intervention, clinical pharmacists (none who had specialist postgraduate infectious disease residency training) reviewed patients on antibiotics and led an antibiotic timeout (ie, structured conversation) prior to discharge to improve discharge antibiotic prescribing. We assessed the association of pharmacist gender with acceptance of timeout recommendations by hospitalists using logistic regression controlling for patient characteristics. RESULTS: Over 6 months, pharmacists conducted 295 timeouts: 158 timeouts (53.6%) were conducted by 12 women, 137 (46.4%) were conducted by 8 men. Pharmacists recommended an antibiotic change in 82 timeouts (27.8%), of which 51 (62.2%) were accepted. Compared to male pharmacists, female pharmacists were less likely to recommend a discharge antibiotic change: 30 (19.0%) of 158 versus 52 (38.0%) of 137 (P < .001). Female pharmacists were also less likely to have a recommendation accepted: 10 (33.3%) of 30 versus 41 (8.8%) of 52 (P < .001). Thus, timeouts conducted by female versus male pharmacists were less likely to result in an antibiotic change: 10 (6.3%) of 158 versus 41 (29.9%) of 137 (P < .001). After adjustments, pharmacist gender remained significantly associated with whether recommended changes were accepted (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.10; 95%confidence interval [CI], 0.03-0.36 for female versus male pharmacists). CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic stewardship recommendations made by female clinical pharmacists were less likely to be accepted by hospitalists. Gender bias may play a role in the acceptance of clinical pharmacist recommendations, which could affect patient care and outcomes.

An Electronic Decision Support Intervention Reduces Readmissions for Patients With Cirrhosis.

INTRODUCTION: Rifaximin use in combination with lactulose is associated with a decreased risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE). METHODS: We prospectively evaluated the impact of an interruptive electronic medical record alert to indicate rifaximin for patients with cirrhosis and HE on lactulose. RESULTS: The intervention was associated increased rifaximin utilization, particularly for nongastroenterology and hospitalist services odds ratio 1.20 95% confidence interval (1.09-1.31). For patients with HE, the intervention was associated with a lower readmission risk-adjusted subdistribution hazard ratio 0.63 95% confidence interval (0.48-0.82). DISCUSSION: An interruptive alert in the electronic ordering system was associated with a lower risk of readmissions.

Reducing overuse of antibiotics at discharge home: A single-center mixed methods pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Antibiotic overuse at hospital discharge is common and harmful; however, methods to improve prescribing during care transitions have been understudied. We aimed to pilot a pharmacist-facilitated antibiotic timeout prior to discharge. METHODS: From May 2019 to October 2019, we conducted a single-center, controlled pilot study of a pharmacist-facilitated antibiotic timeout prior to discharge. The timeout addressed key elements of stewardship (eg, duration) and was designed and implemented using iterative cycles with rapid feedback. We evaluated implementation outcomes related to feasibility, including usability, adherence, and acceptability, using mixed methods. Pre versus postintervention antibiotic use at discharge in intervention versus control groups was assessed using logistic regression models controlling for patient characteristics. RESULTS: Pharmacists conducted 288 antibiotic timeouts. Timeouts were feasible (mean 2.5 minutes per timeout) and acceptable (85% [40/48] of hospitalists believed timeouts improved prescribing). Pharmacists recommended an antibiotic change in 25% (73/288) of timeouts with 70% (51/73) of recommended changes accepted by hospitalists. Barriers to adherence included unanticipated and weekend discharges. Compared to control services, there were no differences in antibiotic use after discharge during the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: A pharmacist-facilitated antibiotic timeout at discharge was feasible and holds promise as a method to improve antibiotic use at discharge.