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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
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1 to 2 of 2 Research Studies DisplayedPak TR, Young J, McKenna CS
Risk of misleading conclusions in observational studies of time-to-antibiotics and mortality in suspected sepsis.
Important studies indicate that every hour of sepsis that elapses until antibiotics are administered increases mortality. The researchers of this study found determined that analyses in the influential studies often adjusted for limited covariates, included patients with long delays until antibiotic administration, combined sepsis and septic shock, and used linear models presuming each hour of delay has equal impact on the sepsis and the patient. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of the analytic decisions on the relationships between time-to-antibiotics and mortality. The researchers retrospectively identified 104,248 adults admitted from 2015-2022 to five hospitals with suspected infection. The patients included 25,990 with suspected septic shock and 23,619 with sepsis without shock. The study found that changing covariates, maximum time-to-antibiotics, and severity stratification altered the magnitude, direction, and significance of observed relationships between time-to-antibiotics and mortality. In a fully adjusted model of patients treated within 6 hours, every hour related with higher mortality for septic shock, but not sepsis without shock or suspected infection alone. Modeling every hour independently confirmed that every hour delay was related with greater mortality for septic shock, but only delays of greater than 6 hours were related with greater mortality for sepsis without shock.
AHRQ-funded; HS027170.
Citation: Pak TR, Young J, McKenna CS .
Risk of misleading conclusions in observational studies of time-to-antibiotics and mortality in suspected sepsis.
Clin Infect Dis 2023 Nov 30; 77(11):1534-43. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciad450..
Keywords: Antibiotics, Medication, Sepsis, Mortality, Quality of Care
Chiotos K, Blumenthal J, Boguniewicz J
Antibiotic indications and appropriateness in the pediatric intensive care unit: a 10-center point prevalence study.
The purpose of this study was to describe indications and appropriateness of antibiotic orders in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) patients. The study found that of 1462 patients admitted to participating PICUs, 58% had at least 1 antibiotic order, with 1277 antibiotic orders being reviewed. Common indications were empiric therapy for suspected bacterial infections without sepsis or septic shock, nonoperative prophylaxis, empiric therapy for sepsis or septic shock, community-acquired pneumonia, and post-operative prophylaxis. Appropriateness was evaluated for 985 orders for which an evidence-based heading for appropriateness could be created. Of these, 34% were categorized as inappropriate. Indications with the most orders classified as inappropriate were empiric therapy for suspected bacterial infection without sepsis or septic shock, sepsis or septic shock, CAP, ventilator-associated infections, and post-operative prophylaxis. The proportion of antibiotics classified as inappropriate differed across institutions.
AHRQ-funded; HS026393.
Citation: Chiotos K, Blumenthal J, Boguniewicz J .
Antibiotic indications and appropriateness in the pediatric intensive care unit: a 10-center point prevalence study.
Clin Infect Dis 2023 Feb 8; 76(3):e1021-e30. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac698..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Antibiotics, Medication, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Sepsis