Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

CDA 16-204 – HSR Study

 
CDA 16-204
Improving antimicrobial use at hospitals that lack infectious disease specialists
Daniel J Livorsi, MD MS
Iowa City VA Health Care System, Iowa City, IA
Iowa City, IA
Funding Period: October 2017 - September 2022
Portfolio Assignment: Career Development
BACKGROUND/RATIONALE:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of today's most urgent public health problems. Antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) can optimize antimicrobial-prescribing, thereby reducing the emergence of AMR while improving patient safety. VHA Directive 1031 mandated that every VHA facility establish and maintain an ASP, and similar regulations have been implemented in non-VHA settings. However, widespread ASP implementation will be challenging. Many ASPs lack access to Infectious Disease (ID) specialists, including 23% of VHA-ASPs. It is unclear how ASPs can be effective in such resource-limited settings. This application will begin to address this problem through an ambitious but achievable Research Plan.

OBJECTIVE(S):
The objective of the proposal is to evaluate and improve antimicrobial stewardship processes at VHA hospitals lacking local ID support. The specific aims are to: 1) identify structural factors and processes associated with facility-level ASP performance; 2) determine provider attitudes and organizational factors that impede or foster antimicrobial stewardship at VHA hospitals lacking ID support, and 3) conduct a pilot intervention to bolster antimicrobial stewardship at VHA hospitals that have low-performing ASPs and lack local ID support. The design of this pilot intervention will be informed by the findings of Aims 1 and 2.

METHODS:
This study will use multilevel regression techniques to evaluate antimicrobial-prescribing across a large cohort of VHA inpatients. Qualitative assessments will also be conducted to understand local barriers and facilitators to antimicrobial stewardship. Finally, a pilot intervention will be implemented at 2 sites to augment local stewardship efforts. The model of Physician Mentored Implementation will guide this intervention, and a pretest-posttest design will be used to assess the effect of the intervention at the 2 intervention hospitals compared to 2 control hospitals.

FINDINGS/RESULTS:
Not yet available.

IMPACT:
Due to the crisis of AMR, there will be an ongoing need to improve antimicrobial use. For this reason, all VHA medical facilities are now mandated to have an active ASP. However, it's unclear how VHA-ASPs without ID support have implemented stewardship processes and whether these processes are effective. The findings from Aim 1 and Aim 2 should address this critical gap in the literature. Our work in Aim 3 will trial novel strategies for improving antimicrobial use in these settings.


External Links for this Project

NIH Reporter

Grant Number: IK2HX002281-01A1
Link: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9395059

Dimensions for VA

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

Learn more about Dimensions for VA.

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
    Search Dimensions for this project

PUBLICATIONS:

Journal Articles

  1. Suzuki H, Perencevich E, Goto M, Alexander B, Nair R, Puig-Asensio M, Ernst E, Livorsi DJ. A comprehensive assessment of carbapenem use across 90 Veterans Health Administration hospitals with defined stewardship strategies for carbapenems. The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy. 2021 Apr 13; 76(5):1358-1365. [view]
  2. Livorsi DJ, Chorazy ML, Schweizer ML, Balkenende EC, Blevins AE, Nair R, Samore MH, Nelson RE, Khader K, Perencevich EN. A systematic review of the epidemiology of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in the United States. Antimicrobial resistance and infection control. 2018 Apr 24; 7:55. [view]
  3. Livorsi DJ, Abdel-Massih R, Crnich CJ, Dodds-Ashley ES, Evans CT, Goedken CC, Echevarria KL, Kelly AA, Spires SS, Veillette JJ, Vento TJ, Jump RLP. An Implementation Roadmap for Establishing Remote Infectious Disease Specialist Support for Consultation and Antibiotic Stewardship in Resource-Limited Settings. Open forum infectious diseases. 2022 Dec 1; 9(12):ofac588. [view]
  4. Tieri JJ, Alexander B, Egge JA, Heintz BH, Livorsi DJ. Antibiotic prescribing in mental health units across the Veterans' Health Administration: How much and how appropriate?. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2023 Feb 1; 44(2):308-311. [view]
  5. Livorsi DJ, Nair R, Lund BC, Alexander B, Beck BF, Goto M, Ohl M, Vaughan-Sarrazin MS, Goetz MB, Perencevich EN. Antibiotic Stewardship Implementation and Antibiotic Use at Hospitals With and Without On-site Infectious Disease Specialists. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2021 May 18; 72(10):1810-1817. [view]
  6. Livorsi DJ, Stewart Steffensmeier KR, Perencevich EN, Goetz MB, Schacht Reisinger H. Antibiotic stewardship implementation at hospitals without on-site infectious disease specialists: A qualitative study. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2022 May 1; 43(5):576-581. [view]
  7. Marra AR, Puig-Asensio M, Balkenende E, Livorsi DJ, Goto M, Perencevich EN. Antibiotic use during end-of-life care: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2021 May 1; 42(5):523-529. [view]
  8. Khaw C, Oberle AD, Lund BC, Egge J, Heintz BH, Erickson BA, Livorsi DJ. Assessment of Guideline Discordance With Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Best Practices for Common Urologic Procedures. JAMA Network Open. 2018 Dec 7; 1(8):e186248. [view]
  9. Goto M, Jones MP, Schweizer ML, Livorsi DJ, Perencevich EN, Richardson K, Beck BF, Alexander B, Ohl ME. Association of Infectious Diseases Consultation With Long-term Postdischarge Outcomes Among Patients With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia. JAMA Network Open. 2020 Feb 5; 3(2):e1921048. [view]
  10. Keating JA, Obasi C, McKinley L, Musuuza J, Knobloch MJ, Crnich C, Evans CT, Evans M, Livorsi D, Morgan DJ, Perencevich E, Reisinger HS, Schweizer ML, Suda KJ, Safdar N. Building Implementation Science for Veterans Affairs Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention: VA Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Network (VHIN). Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2018 Jun 1; 39(6):753-757. [view]
  11. Schweizer ML, Richardson K, Vaughan Sarrazin MS, Goto M, Livorsi DJ, Nair R, Alexander B, Beck BF, Jones MP, Puig-Asensio M, Suh D, Ohl M, Perencevich EN. Comparative Effectiveness of Switching to Daptomycin Versus Remaining on Vancomycin Among Patients With Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Bloodstream Infections. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2021 Jan 29; 72(Supplement_1):S68-S73. [view]
  12. Dykes LA, Heintz SJ, Heintz BH, Livorsi DJ, Egge JA, Lund BC. Contrasting qSOFA and SIRS Criteria for Early Sepsis Identification in a Veteran Population. Federal practitioner : for the health care professionals of the VA, DoD, and PHS. 2019 Mar 1; 36(Suppl 2):S21-S24. [view]
  13. Mody L, Akinboyo IC, Babcock HM, Bischoff WE, Cheng VC, Chiotos K, Claeys KC, Coffey KC, Diekema DJ, Donskey CJ, Ellingson KD, Gilmartin HM, Gohil SK, Harris AD, Keller SC, Klein EY, Krein SL, Kwon JH, Lauring AS, Livorsi DJ, Lofgren ET, Merrill K, Milstone AM, Monsees EA, Morgan DJ, Perri LP, Pfeiffer CD, Rock C, Saint S, Sickbert-Bennett E, Skelton F, Suda KJ, Talbot TR, Vaughn VM, Weber DJ, Wiemken TL, Yassin MH, Ziegler MJ, Anderson DJ, SHEA Research Committee. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) research agenda for healthcare epidemiology. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2022 Feb 1; 43(2):156-166. [view]
  14. Musuuza JS, McKinley L, Keating JA, Obasi C, Knobloch MJ, Crnich C, Evans CT, Evans ME, Livorsi D, Morgan DJ, Perencevich EN, Reisinger HS, Schweizer ML, Suda KJ, Simbartl LA, Safdar N. Correlation of prevention practices with rates of health care-associated infection. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2020 Jan 1; 41(1):52-58. [view]
  15. Kakiuchi S, Livorsi DJ, Perencevich EN, Diekema DJ, Ince D, Prasidthrathsint K, Kinn P, Percival K, Heintz BH, Goto M. Days of Antibiotic Spectrum Coverage: A Novel Metric for Inpatient Antibiotic Consumption. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2022 Sep 10; 75(4):567-576. [view]
  16. Chandra S, Klair JS, Soota K, Livorsi DJ, Johlin FC. Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography-Obtained Bile Culture Can Guide Antibiotic Therapy in Acute Cholangitis. Digestive diseases (Basel, Switzerland). 2018 Oct 3; 1-6. [view]
  17. Lowery JL, Alexander B, Nair R, Heintz BH, Livorsi DJ. Evaluation of antibiotic prescribing in emergency departments and urgent care centers across the Veterans' Health Administration. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2021 Jun 1; 42(6):694-701. [view]
  18. Masadeh M, Chandra S, Livorsi D, Johlin F, Silverman W. Evaluation of Biliary Bacterial Resistance in Patients with Frequent Biliary Instrumentation, One Size Does Not Fit All. Digestive diseases and sciences. 2018 Dec 1; 63(12):3474-3479. [view]
  19. Suzuki H, Perencevich EN, Nair R, Livorsi DJ, Goto M. Excess Length of Acute Inpatient Stay Attributable to Acquisition of Hospital-Onset Gram-Negative Bloodstream Infection with and without Antibiotic Resistance: A Multistate Model Analysis. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland). 2020 Feb 23; 9(2). [view]
  20. Suzuki H, Perencevich EN, Alexander B, Beck BF, Goto M, Lund BC, Nair R, Livorsi DJ. Inpatient Fluoroquinolone Stewardship Improves the Quantity and Quality of Fluoroquinolone Prescribing at Hospital Discharge: A Retrospective Analysis Among 122 Veterans Health Administration Hospitals. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2020 Aug 22; 71(5):1232-1239. [view]
  21. Livorsi DJ, Drainoni ML, Reisinger HS, Nanda N, McGregor JC, Barlam TF, Morris AM, Szymczak JE. Leveraging implementation science to advance antibiotic stewardship practice and research. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2022 Feb 1; 43(2):139-146. [view]
  22. Livorsi DJ, Nair R, Lund BC, Alexander B, Beck BF, Goto M, Perencevich EN. MRSA prevalence and hospital-level antibiotic use: A retrospective study across 122 acute-care hospitals. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2021 Mar 1; 42(3):353-355. [view]
  23. Nair R, Perencevich EN, Goto M, Livorsi DJ, Balkenende E, Kiscaden E, Schweizer ML. Patient care experience with utilization of isolation precautions: systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Clinical Microbiology and Infection : The Official Publication of The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2020 Jun 1; 26(6):684-695. [view]
  24. Feller J, Lund BC, Perencevich EN, Alexander B, Heintz B, Beck B, Nair R, Goto M, Livorsi DJ. Post-discharge oral antimicrobial use among hospitalized patients across an integrated national healthcare network. Clinical Microbiology and Infection : The Official Publication of The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 2020 Mar 1; 26(3):327-332. [view]
  25. Puig-Asensio M, Perencevich EN, Livorsi DJ. Prolonged postprocedural antimicrobial use: A survey of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America Research Network. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2019 Nov 1; 40(11):1281-1283. [view]
  26. Suda KJ, Livorsi DJ, Goto M, Forrest GN, Jones MM, Neuhauser MM, Hoff BM, Ince D, Carrel M, Nair R, Knobloch MJ, Goetz MB. Research Agenda for Antimicrobial Stewardship in the Veterans Health Administration. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2018 Feb 1; 39(2):196-201. [view]
  27. Morris AM, Calderwood MS, Fridkin SK, Livorsi DJ, McGregor JC, Mody L, Moehring RW, Pakyz AL, Stenehjem E, Szymczak JE, Tamma PD. Research needs in antibiotic stewardship. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2019 Dec 1; 40(12):1334-1343. [view]
  28. Lee JD, Heintz BH, Mosher HJ, Livorsi DJ, Egge JA, Lund BC. Risk of Acute Kidney Injury and Clostridioides difficile Infection With Piperacillin/Tazobactam, Cefepime, and Meropenem With or Without Vancomycin. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2021 Oct 5; 73(7):e1579-e1586. [view]
  29. Suzuki H, Perencevich EN, Diekema DJ, Livorsi DJ, Nair R, Kralovic SM, Roselle GA, Goto M. Temporal Trends of Candidemia Incidence Rates and Potential Contributions of Infection Control Initiatives Over 18 Years Within the United States Veterans Health Administration System: A Joinpoint Time-Series Analysis. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2021 Aug 16; 73(4):689-696. [view]
  30. Livorsi DJ, Suda KJ, Cunningham Goedken C, Hockett Sherlock S, Balkenende E, Chasco EE, Scherer AM, Goto M, Perencevich EN, Goetz MB, Reisinger HS, Veterans Affairs-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Practice-Based Research Network. The feasibility of implementing antibiotic restrictions for fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins: a mixed-methods study across 15 Veterans Health Administration hospitals. The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy. 2021 Jul 15; 76(8):2195-2203. [view]
  31. Livorsi DJ, Sherlock SH, Cunningham Goedken C, Pratt S, Goodman DA, Clarke KC, Cho H, Schacht Reisinger H, Perencevich EN. The use of telehealth-supported stewardship activities in acute-care and long-term care settings: An implementation effectiveness trial. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2023 Dec 1; 44(12):2028-2035. [view]
  32. Livorsi DJ, Linn CM, Alexander B, Heintz BH, Tubbs TA, Perencevich EN. The Value of Electronically Extracted Data for Auditing Outpatient Antimicrobial Prescribing. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2018 Jan 1; 39(1):64-70. [view]
  33. Griebel ME, Heintz B, Alexander B, Egge J, Goto M, Livorsi DJ. Understanding changes in the standardized antimicrobial administration ratio for total antimicrobial use after implementation of prospective audit and feedback. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2018 Dec 1; 39(12):1476-1479. [view]
  34. Livorsi DJ, Nair R, Dysangco A, Aylward A, Alexander B, Smith MW, Kouba S, Perencevich EN. Using Audit and Feedback to Improve Antimicrobial Prescribing in Emergency Departments: A Multicenter Quasi-Experimental Study in the Veterans Health Administration. Open forum infectious diseases. 2021 Jun 1; 8(6):ofab186. [view]
Journal Other

  1. Livorsi DJ, Reisinger HS, Stenehjem E. Adapting Antibiotic Stewardship to the Community Hospital. JAMA Network Open. 2019 Aug 2; 2(8):e199356. [view]
  2. Hoff BM, Ford DC, Ince D, Ernst EJ, Livorsi DJ, Heintz BH, Masse V, Brownlee MJ, Ford BA. Implementation of a Mobile Clinical Decision Support Application to Augment Local Antimicrobial Stewardship. Journal of pathology informatics. 2018 Apr 2; 9:10. [view]
  3. Livorsi DJ, Evans CT, Morgan DJ, Reisinger HS, Safdar N, Suda KJ, Perencevich EN. Setting the Research Agenda for Preventing Infections From Multidrug-Resistant Organisms in the Veterans Health Administration. Infection control and hospital epidemiology. 2018 Feb 1; 39(2):186-188. [view]


DRA: Health Systems Science, Infectious Diseases
DRE: TRL - Applied/Translational
Keywords: none
MeSH Terms: none

Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.