Smith, Bradley L.

Abstract Purpose Hospital emergency medication kits (HEMKs) are used to provide certain critical medications in emergent situations, despite many technological advancements for patient safety and medication distribution. We sought to evaluate HEMK usage and analyze associated costs to identify and recommend process improvements. Methods Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, is a large multisite academic medical center with 2 hospital campuses and many ambulatory clinics. All documentation of the approximately 250 HEMKs in circulation was analyzed from January to November 2017. The primary outcome was HEMK use. Secondary outcomes included individual medication usage and associated costs. These data were then used to recommend process improvements. Results Of 880 HEMKs evaluated, 675 (76.7%) were used, resulting in expiration 23.3% of the time. A total of 1,024 emergency medications were used, most commonly for hypoglycemia. Many of these medications are also available in automated dispensing machines for patient care use. Cost analysis revealed an average annual cost of nearly $200,000 associated with HEMKs. The results of our analysis indicated little added benefit of HEMKs in the setting of automated dispensing machine optimization. Steps for HEMK retirement are described. Conclusion HEMKs offered little added benefit considering technological advancements that have been made in patient safety and medication distribution since their inception. Retirement of HEMKs is anticipated to increase pharmacy operational efficiency by using automated dispensing machine technology and appropriate emergency response protocols to ensure optimal patient care.

Abstract Background Limited data exist to evaluate safety-related outcomes in Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) patients treated with antimicrobial agents for Gram-positive infections. Methods This retrospective, single-center study enrolled Mayo Clinic OPAT patients between 2013 and 2017. The primary objective of the study compared rates of therapy modification due to drug-related toxicity for staphylococcal infections treated with ceftriaxone, cefazolin, nafcillin, oxacillin, vancomycin, daptomycin, ceftaroline, linezolid, or ertapenem. Secondary objectives included determination of the frequency and type of adverse drug events (ADEs) attributed to OPAT and rate of readmission due to ADEs attributed to OPAT. Results One hundred seventy-two patients were identified (cefazolin n = 54, ceftriaxone n = 49, vancomycin n = 30, daptomycin n = 16, nafcillin n = 9, ertapenem n = 6, ceftaroline n = 4, oxacillin n = 3, linezolid n = 1). The overall treatment completion rates were high (153/172, 89.0%). Patients completed an average of 35.3 days (7 to 95) of therapy with their original antibiotic. Fourteen patients required change to a different antibiotic due to antimicrobial toxicity (ceftriaxone=5; vancomycin=2; cefazolin = 2; daptomycin = 2; ceftaroline = 1; nafcillin = 1; oxacillin = 1) and five patients experienced treatment failure required an additional agent (ceftriaxone = 2; nafcillin = 2; linezolid = 1). Adverse drug events (ADEs) were the most common reason for antimicrobial adjustment (14/19, 73.7%). The most common ADEs were hypokalemia (28/172, 16.3%) and diarrhea (25/172, 14.5%). There were only two cases of Clostridium difficile. Thirty-day readmissions due to antimicrobial therapy were low with 11 patients. Conclusion OPAT with Gram-positive agents used for staphylococcal infections is effective, but antimicrobial modifications still occur. Clinicians should be aware of the risk of ADEs and readmissions in OPAT patients. A multidisciplinary approach may enhance management of ADEs and possibly preventing readmissions Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.