Browsing by Author "Moehring, Rebekah W"

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    Bloodstream infections in community hospitals in the 21st century: a multicenter cohort study.
    (PLoS One, 2014) Anderson, Deverick J; Moehring, Rebekah W; Sloane, Richard; Schmader, Kenneth E; Weber, David J; Fowler, Vance G; Smathers, Emily; Sexton, Daniel J
    BACKGROUND: While the majority of healthcare in the US is provided in community hospitals, the epidemiology and treatment of bloodstream infections in this setting is unknown. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We undertook this multicenter, retrospective cohort study to 1) describe the epidemiology of bloodstream infections (BSI) in a network of community hospitals and 2) determine risk factors for inappropriate therapy for bloodstream infections in community hospitals. 1,470 patients were identified as having a BSI in 9 community hospitals in the southeastern US from 2003 through 2006. The majority of BSIs were community-onset, healthcare associated (n = 823, 56%); 432 (29%) patients had community-acquired BSI, and 215 (15%) had hospital-onset, healthcare-associated BSI. BSIs due to multidrug-resistant pathogens occurred in 340 patients (23%). Overall, the three most common pathogens were S. aureus (n = 428, 28%), E. coli (n = 359, 24%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (n = 148, 10%), though type of infecting organism varied by location of acquisition (e.g., community-acquired). Inappropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy was given to 542 (38%) patients. Proportions of inappropriate therapy varied by hospital (median = 33%, range 21-71%). Multivariate logistic regression identified the following factors independently associated with failure to receive appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy: hospital where the patient received care (p<0.001), assistance with ≥3 ADLs (p = 0.005), Charlson score (p = 0.05), community-onset, healthcare-associated infection (p = 0.01), and hospital-onset, healthcare-associated infection (p = 0.02). Important interaction was observed between Charlson score and location of acquisition. CONCLUSIONS: Our large, multicenter study provides the most complete picture of BSIs in community hospitals in the US to date. The epidemiology of BSIs in community hospitals has changed: community-onset, healthcare-associated BSI is most common, S. aureus is the most common cause, and 1 of 3 patients with a BSI receives inappropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy. Our data suggest that appropriateness of empiric antimicrobial therapy is an important and needed performance metric for physicians and hospital stewardship programs in community hospitals.
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    Compiling Observational Research During a Pandemic: A Necessary Bridge.
    (Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, 2020-12-11) Moehring, Rebekah W; Holland, Thomas L
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    Delays in appropriate antibiotic therapy for gram-negative bloodstream infections: a multicenter, community hospital study.
    (PLoS One, 2013) Moehring, Rebekah W; Sloane, Richard; Chen, Luke F; Smathers, Emily C; Schmader, Kenneth E; Fowler, Vance G; Weber, David J; Sexton, Daniel J; Anderson, Deverick J
    BACKGROUND: Gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infection (BSI) is a serious condition with estimated 30% mortality. Clinical outcomes for patients with severe infections improve when antibiotics are appropriately chosen and given early. The objective of this study was to estimate the association of prior healthcare exposure on time to appropriate antibiotic therapy in patients with gram-negative BSI. METHOD: We performed a multicenter cohort study of adult, hospitalized patients with gram-negative BSI using time to event analysis in nine community hospitals from 2003-2006. Event time was defined as the first administration of an antibiotic with in vitro activity against the infecting organism. Healthcare exposure status was categorized as community-acquired, healthcare-associated, or hospital-acquired. Time to appropriate therapy among groups of patients with differing healthcare exposure status was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analyses and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: The cohort included 578 patients with gram-negative BSI, including 320 (55%) healthcare-associated, 217 (38%) community-acquired, and 41 (7%) hospital-acquired infections. 529 (92%) patients received an appropriate antibiotic during their hospitalization. Time to appropriate therapy was significantly different among the groups of healthcare exposure status (log-rank p=0.02). Time to first antibiotic administration regardless of drug appropriateness was not different between groups (p=0.3). The unadjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95% confidence interval) were 0.80 (0.65-0.98) for healthcare-associated and 0.72 (0.63-0.82) for hospital-acquired, relative to patients with community-acquired BSI. In multivariable analysis, interaction was found between the main effect and baseline Charlson comorbidity index. When Charlson index was 3, adjusted HRs were 0.66 (0.48-0.92) for healthcare-associated and 0.57 (0.44-0.75) for hospital-acquired, relative to patients with community-acquired infections. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with healthcare-associated or hospital-acquired BSI experienced delays in receipt of appropriate antibiotics for gram-negative BSI compared to patients with community-acquired BSI. This difference was not due to delayed initiation of antibiotic therapy, but due to the inappropriate choice of antibiotic.
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    Epidemiologic Trends in Clostridioides difficile Infections in a Regional Community Hospital Network
    (JAMA Network Open) Turner, Nicholas A; Grambow, Steven C; Woods, Christopher W; Fowler, Vance G; Moehring, Rebekah W; Anderson, Deverick J; Lewis, Sarah S
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    Harvesting the Low Hanging Fruit: A Benchmarking Tool for Implementation of Intravenous to Oral Antibiotic Switch Programs in 14 Southeastern Community Hospitals.
    (Open forum infectious diseases, 2015-12-09) Garner, Bronwen; Lokhnygina, Yuliya; Dodds-Ashley, Elizabeth; Johnson, Melissa; Drew, Richard H; Davis, Angelina; Sexton, Daniel J; Anderson, Deverick; Moehring, Rebekah W
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    Curvularia alcornii Aortic Pseudoaneurysm Following Aortic Valve Replacement: Case Report and Review of the Literature.
    (Open forum infectious diseases, 2021-11) Narayanasamy, Shanti; Williams, Adam R; Schell, Wiley A; Moehring, Rebekah W; Alexander, Barbara D; Le, Thuy; Bharadwaj, Ramesh A; McGauvran, Michelle; Schroder, Jacob N; Perfect, John R
    We report the first case of Curvularia alcornii aortic pseudoaneurysm following bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement in an immunocompetent host. Infection was complicated by septic emboli to multiple organs. Despite aggressive surgical intervention and antifungal therapy, infection progressed. We review the literature on invasive Curvularia infection to inform diagnosis and management.
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    Identification of novel risk factors for community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection using spatial statistics and geographic information system analyses.
    (PLoS One, 2017) Anderson, Deverick J; Rojas, Leoncio Flavio; Watson, Shera; Knelson, Lauren P; Pruitt, Sohayla; Lewis, Sarah S; Moehring, Rebekah W; Sickbert Bennett, Emily E; Weber, David J; Chen, Luke F; Sexton, Daniel J; CDC Prevention Epicenters Program
    BACKGROUND: The rate of community-acquired Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI) is increasing. While receipt of antibiotics remains an important risk factor for CDI, studies related to acquisition of C. difficile outside of hospitals are lacking. As a result, risk factors for exposure to C. difficile in community settings have been inadequately studied. MAIN OBJECTIVE: To identify novel environmental risk factors for CA-CDI. METHODS: We performed a population-based retrospective cohort study of patients with CA-CDI from 1/1/2007 through 12/31/2014 in a 10-county area in central North Carolina. 360 Census Tracts in these 10 counties were used as the demographic Geographic Information System (GIS) base-map. Longitude and latitude (X, Y) coordinates were generated from patient home addresses and overlaid to Census Tracts polygons using ArcGIS; ArcView was used to assess "hot-spots" or clusters of CA-CDI. We then constructed a mixed hierarchical model to identify environmental variables independently associated with increased rates of CA-CDI. RESULTS: A total of 1,895 unique patients met our criteria for CA-CDI. The mean patient age was 54.5 years; 62% were female and 70% were Caucasian. 402 (21%) patient addresses were located in "hot spots" or clusters of CA-CDI (p<0.001). "Hot spot" census tracts were scattered throughout the 10 counties. After adjusting for clustering and population density, age ≥ 60 years (p = 0.03), race (<0.001), proximity to a livestock farm (0.01), proximity to farming raw materials services (0.02), and proximity to a nursing home (0.04) were independently associated with increased rates of CA-CDI. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to use spatial statistics and mixed models to identify important environmental risk factors for acquisition of C. difficile and adds to the growing evidence that farm practices may put patients at risk for important drug-resistant infections.
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    Using clinical decision support to improve urine testing and antibiotic utilization.
    (Infection control and hospital epidemiology, 2023-03) Yarrington, Michael E; Reynolds, Staci S; Dunkerson, Tray; McClellan, Fabienne; Polage, Christopher R; Moehring, Rebekah W; Smith, Becky A; Seidelman, Jessica L; Lewis, Sarah S; Advani, Sonali D

    Objective

    Urine cultures collected from catheterized patients have a high likelihood of false-positive results due to colonization. We examined the impact of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool that includes catheter information on test utilization and patient-level outcomes.

    Methods

    This before-and-after intervention study was conducted at 3 hospitals in North Carolina. In March 2021, a CDS tool was incorporated into urine-culture order entry in the electronic health record, providing education about indications for culture and suggesting catheter removal or exchange prior to specimen collection for catheters present >7 days. We used an interrupted time-series analysis with Poisson regression to evaluate the impact of CDS implementation on utilization of urinalyses and urine cultures, antibiotic use, and other outcomes during the pre- and postintervention periods.

    Results

    The CDS tool was prompted in 38,361 instances of urine cultures ordered in all patients, including 2,133 catheterized patients during the postintervention study period. There was significant decrease in urine culture orders (1.4% decrease per month; P < .001) and antibiotic use for UTI indications (2.3% decrease per month; P = .006), but there was no significant decline in CAUTI rates in the postintervention period. Clinicians opted for urinary catheter removal in 183 (8.5%) instances. Evaluation of the safety reporting system revealed no apparent increase in safety events related to catheter removal or reinsertion.

    Conclusion

    CDS tools can aid in optimizing urine culture collection practices and can serve as a reminder for removal or exchange of long-term indwelling urinary catheters at the time of urine-culture collection.