Assessment of Direct Oral Anticoagulant Use at a Community Teaching Hospital.

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have become popular choices for both the treatment and prevention of thromboembolic events. However, these agents pose additional risks to patients due to complex dosing, insufficient monitoring, and inconsistent patient compliance. This study evaluates the appropriateness of DOAC prescribing for patients who received an order for apixaban or rivaroxaban over a 6-month period. The primary outcome is percentage of inappropriately prescribed DOAC regimens. Secondary outcomes include an effectiveness endpoint of stroke or embolism and a safety endpoint of major bleeding documented during or within 60 days of the initial visit as well as number of pharmacist clinical interventions. DOAC orders were appropriate 73% of the time. Of the 27% of inappropriate orders, approximately half were apixaban and half were rivaroxaban. The most common reason for an inappropriate order for apixaban was due to atrial fibrillation dosing, and the most common reason for an inappropriate rivaroxaban order was due to dose-indication mismatch. There were 30 pharmacist clinical interventions on DOAC orders that were documented during the 6-month period, and the most common reason for a pharmacist intervention was duplication with another anticoagulant.

Impact of Procalcitonin Monitoring on Duration of Antibiotics in Patients With Sepsis and/or Pneumonia in a Community Hospital Setting.

Background: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a biomarker specific for bacterial infections versus viral or noninfectious causes. Utilizing PCT as a guide for antibiotic duration could have benefit in limiting antimicrobial overuse. Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze the effect of PCT monitoring on inpatient antibiotic duration for pneumonia and sepsis at a community hospital. Methods: This study utilized a prospective cohort design with a historical control group prior to the availability of PCT testing and a prospective intervention group after the availability of PCT testing at a community hospital. Results: A total of 102 patients (51 retrospective and 51 prospective) were included in the analysis. There was no difference in mean duration of inpatient antibiotics (6.1 ± 3.9 vs 5.4 ± 2.9 days, P = .50). Additionally, there was no difference in the average time to antibiotic de-escalation, average hospital length of stay, or intensive care unit length of stay. PCT monitoring resulted in a 41% reduction in discharge antibiotics (63% vs 37%, P = .0090) and a 2.2-day reduction in duration of overall inpatient and post-discharge antibiotics (9.5 ± 4.5 vs 7.3 ± 4.1 days, P = .013). There was no difference in mortality, relapse of infection, or 30-day readmission. Conclusion: PCT monitoring in patients with suspected pneumonia and/or sepsis in the community setting failed to show a reduction in duration of inpatient antibiotics after the introduction of PCT monitoring. However, PCT resulted in significantly fewer discharge antibiotics and overall inpatient plus post-discharge antibiotic duration, with no detrimental effect on mortality or readmission.