Antibiotic Stewardship Helps Protect Newborns in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

AHRQ Stats: Trends in Healthcare-Associated Infections

Between 2020 and 2021, the rate of inpatient stays with an associated central-line associated bloodstream infection increased by 37.2 percent, and the rate of stays with an associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection increased by 47 percent. (Source: AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #313, Prevalence and Burden of Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), 2016-2021 [PDF, 1.3 MB].)

Today's Headlines:

• Antibiotic Stewardship Helps Protect Newborns in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.
• AHRQ Grantee Profile Highlights Work of Larissa Grigoryan To Reduce Unsafe Use of Antibiotics.
• Nominations Due Dec. 20 for Awards on Best Research Using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Data.
• Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network.
• Register for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars.
• New Research and Evidence From AHRQ.
• AHRQ in the Professional Literature.

Antibiotic Stewardship Helps Protect Newborns in Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Antibiotics are often given to preterm and vulnerable newborns before infections are confirmed in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). In an article published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, AHRQ-supported scholars reviewed general principles of antibiotic stewardship, a careful approach to reducing unnecessary antibiotic use, and how it can be applied to NICUs to avoid adverse effects and limit antibiotic resistance. They summarized current antibiotic use metrics and reviewed evidence-based infection prevention practices in the NICU. They also provided current recommendations for practical antibiotic use in the NICU, summarized the usefulness of infection biomarkers and highlighted specific threats in the NICU. They concluded that by implementing these practices, NICUs can better protect newborns from risks associated with overusing antibiotics, improve patient outcomes and help combat the global issue of antibiotic resistance. Access the abstract.

AHRQ Grantee Profile Highlights Work of Larissa Grigoryan To Reduce Unsafe Use of Antibiotics

Antibiotic stewardship is vitally important to both individual and public health because inappropriate antibiotic use can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can make antibiotics ineffective. AHRQ grantee Larissa Grigoryan, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, is focusing her AHRQ-funded research on reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics, specifically in outpatient care. Her AHRQ-funded studies have explored the reasons nonprescription antibiotic use occurs, the prevalence and predictors of antibiotic use without a prescription in children and misdiagnoses of urinary tract infections leading to the overprescribing of antibiotics. Using her findings, she is developing and testing antibiotic stewardship interventions, making healthcare safer. Access Dr. Grigoryan’s profile and the profiles of other AHRQ grantees.

Nominations Due Dec. 20 for Awards on Best Research Using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Data

Nominations are being accepted for AHRQ’s biennial Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) awards for best clinical and policy research. The awards, co-sponsored by AHRQ and AcademyHealth, recognize research published in peer-reviewed journals that used the HCUP databases to explore and address healthcare topics. Publications must have occurred between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2024. Work honored will have demonstrated how HCUP has contributed to the health services research field. Awards will be presented during the 2025 AcademyHealth Annual Research Meeting. Authors may self-nominate or be nominated by another individual. Learn more and access the nomination form.

Highlights From AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network

AHRQ’s Patient Safety Network (PSNet) highlights journal articles, books and tools related to patient safety. Articles featured this week include:

• Experiences with diagnostic delay among underserved racial and ethnic patients: a systematic review of the qualitative literature.
• Nurse burnout and patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of care: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
• Implementation of a standardized tool for root cause analysis selection.
• Family medicine presence on labor and delivery: effect on safety culture and cesarean delivery.

Review additional new publications in PSNet’s current issue, including recent cases and commentaries and AHRQ’s WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web).

Register for Upcoming AHRQ Webinars

• Dec. 3, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: Person-Centered Care Planning for People With Multiple Chronic Conditions will feature preliminary findings from an AHRQ-funded project on approaches to providing person-centered care for people with multiple chronic conditions. The project was funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund.
• Dec. 3, 3 to 4:30 p.m. ET: Advancing Digital Healthcare Equity: Navigating Disparities in the Digital Age will explore the intersection of technology, healthcare and equity. The federal expert panel will explore some of the latest frameworks, data and tools to inform and advance health and digital healthcare equity.
• Dec. 10, noon to 1 p.m. ET: Resolving Workforce Turnover Crisis will highlight strategies to reduce staff turnover and promote workforce safety in healthcare. The webinar is sponsored by the AHRQ-led National Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety, a public-private collaboration established by AHRQ on behalf of HHS.
• Dec. 10, 1 to 2 p.m. ET: How Patient Narratives Can Support Your Patient Experience Strategy, sponsored by AHRQ’s Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) program, will describe how patient narratives can identify and address improvement opportunities.

New Research and Evidence From AHRQ

• The Effect of Protein Intake on Health: A Systematic Review
• Evaluation of Dietary Protein and Amino Acid Requirements: A Systematic Review
• Use of Life Cycle Assessment in the Healthcare Industry: Environmental Impacts and Emissions Associated With Products, Processes, and Waste
• Linking Dental Services to Treatment Outcomes for Diabetes: A Rapid Response Review
• Linking Dental Services to Treatment Outcomes for Chronic Kidney Disease: A Rapid Response Review
• The Association Between Outcomes and Dental Services in Persons With Autoimmune Disease Treated With Biologics and Other Immunosuppressants: A Rapid Response Review

AHRQ in the Professional Literature

Does an "EZ" survey improve the data quality of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Clinician and Group Survey 3.1? Hays RD, Brown JA, Mikail C, et al. J Patient Exp 2024 Nov 14;11. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Variation in use of neuroimaging in the care of infants undergoing subspecialty evaluations for abuse: a multicenter study. Alpert E, Wood JN, Shults J, et al. Acad Pediatr 2024 Oct 25. [Epub ahead of print.] Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Formal and informal hospital emergency management practices: managing for safety and performance amid crisis. Hayirli TC, Kuznetsova M, Biddinger PD, et al. Int J Qual Health Care 2024 Jul 31;36(3). Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Primary care organizational support for nurse practitioner practice and emotional health care delivery. Turi E, Schlak A, Trexler J, et al. J Patient Saf 2024 Sep 1;20(6):392-6. Epub 2024 May 16. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Child Opportunity Index mobility, recurrent wheezing, and asthma in early childhood: a population-based prospective cohort study. Tyris J, Putnick DL, Bell EM, et al. J Pediatr 2024 Sep;272:114121. Epub 2024 May 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Person-centered care planning for people living with or at risk for multiple chronic conditions. Watson BN, Estenson L, Eden AR, et al. JAMA Netw Open 2024 Oct;7(10):e2439851. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Engagement among diverse patient backgrounds in a remote symptom monitoring program. Rocque GB, Caston NE, Hildreth K, et al. JCO Oncol Pract 2024 Oct;20(10):1426-35. Epub 2024 Jun 25. Access the abstract on PubMed®.

Factors associated with acute telemental health consultations in older veterans. Koch EC, Ward MJ, Jeffery AD, et al. West J Emerg Med 2024 May;25(3):312-19. Access the abstract on PubMed®.