The effect of rapid diagnostic testing with Infectious Diseases fellow consultative intervention on the management of enterococcal bloodstream infection.

BACKGROUND

Rapid diagnostics for enterococcal bloodstream infections (E-BSIs) can decrease the time to speciation and determination of vancomycin resistance but may not lead to improved antibiotic stewardship.

METHODS

Over 3 years, the time to administration of institutionally preferred antibiotics (IPT) for patients with E-BSI was evaluated and compared between 3 intervention groups: before (baseline) and after implementation of a rapid diagnostic (BC-GP), and the use of BC-GP with an Infectious Diseases (ID) fellow-driven consultative intervention (BC-GP + ID).

RESULTS

A total of 110 patients (63 baseline, 13 BC-GP, 34 BC-GP + ID) with E-BSI were evaluated. Evaluation of Enterococcus faecium BSI showed that the time IPT was significantly reduced with BC-GP + ID by 10.6 h from baseline (P = 0.02) and 5.4 h from BC-GP (P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

An ID fellow-driven stewardship intervention was associated with a significant improvement in time to IPT for patients with E. faecium but not E. faecalis BSI.