1571. Hospital COVID-19 Burden Impact on Inpatient Antibiotic Use Rates
Authors: Ashley Elizabeth Dodds , Lokhnygina Yuliya , Doughman Danielle , Foy Katherine R , Nelson Alicia D , Dyer April , Jones Travis M , Johnson Melissa D , Davis Angelina , Advani Sonali D , Cromer Andrea , Mavrogiorgos Nikolaos , Daniels Lindsay M , Marx Ashley H , Kalu Ibukun , Sickbert-Bennett Emily , Shaefer Spires S , Anderson Deverick J , Moehring Rebekah W 
Published: December 2022

Background

COVID-19 shifted antibiotic stewardship program resources and changed antibiotic use (AU). Shifts in patient populations with COVID surges, including pauses to surgical procedures, and dynamic practice changes makes temporal associations difficult to interpret. Our analysis aimed to address the impact of COVID on AU after adjusting for other practice shifts.

Methods

We performed a longitudinal analysis of AU data from 30 Southeast US hospitals. Three pandemic phases (1: 3/20–6/20; 2: 7/20–10/20; 3: 11/20–2/21) were compared to baseline (1/2018–1/2020). AU (days of therapy (DOT)/1000 patient days (PD)) was collected for all antimicrobial agents and specific subgroups: broad spectrum (NHSN group for hospital-onset infections), CAP (ceftriaxone, azithromycin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin, and doxycycline), and antifungal. Monthly COVID burden was defined as all PD attributed to a COVID admission. We fit negative binomial GEE models to AU including phase and interaction terms between COVID burden and phase to test the hypothesis that AU changes during the phases were related to COVID burden. Models included adjustment for Charlson comorbidity, surgical volume, time since 12/2017 and seasonality.

Results

Observed AU rates by subgroup varied over time; peaks were observed for different subgroups during distinct pandemic phases (Figure). Compared to baseline, we observed a significant increase in overall, broad spectrum, and CAP groups during phase 1 (Table). In phase 2, overall and CAP AU was significantly higher than baseline, but in phase 3, AU was similar to baseline. These phase changes were separate from effects of COVID burden, except in phase 1 where we observed significant effects on antifungal (increased) and CAP (decreased) AU (Table).

Conclusion

Changes in hospital AU observed during early phases of the COVID pandemic appeared unrelated to COVID burden and may have been due to indirect pandemic effects (e.g., case mix, healthcare resource shifts). By pandemic phase 3, these disruptive effects were not as apparent, potentially related to shifts in non-COVID patient populations or ASP resources, availability of COVID treatments, or increased learning, diagnostic certainty, and provider comfort with avoiding antibacterials in patients with suspected COVID over time.

Disclosures

Melissa D. Johnson, PharmD, Biomeme: Licensed Transcriptional Signature for Candidemia|Charles River Laboratories: Grant/Research Support|Entasis Therapeutics: Advisor/Consultant|Merck & Co. Inc: Advisor/Consultant|Merck & Co. Inc: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer, Inc.: Advisor/Consultant|Scynexis Inc.: Grant/Research Support|Theratechnologies: Advisor/Consultant Angelina Davis, PharmD, M.S., Merck & Co.: Honoraria Sonali D. Advani, MBBS, MPH, FIDSA, Locus Biosciences: Advisor/Consultant|Locus Biosciences: Honoraria|Sysmex America: Advisor/Consultant Ibukun Kalu, MD, Pfizer, Inc.: Institutional support for clinical trial Rebekah W. Moehring, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA, UpToDate, Inc.: Author Royalties.