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AU Option Case Examples
Disseminating Quarterly Data Quality Reports for NHSN AU Option Users in the State of Tennessee
Using the NHSN Group Function, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program created automated data quality reports for Tennessee facilities submitting to NHSN Antimicrobial Use (AU) Option. In 2021, the TDH began disseminating data quality reports quarterly to assist facilities in validating submitted AU Option data. Read More.
Posted On: October 12, 2021
Using the SAAR to Track Impact of Multiple Concurrent Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions
The stewardship team at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL identified the need for oral step-down antimicrobial therapy guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia. Additionally, after reviewing Northwestern Memorial’s antibiogram, the team determined that treatment of urinary tract infections could be optimized. They used the Antimicrobial Use (AU) Option Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratios (SAARs) to track the progress of both interventions. Read More.
Posted On: September 9, 2019
Decreasing Aztreonam Use in a Veterans Affairs Hospital
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center has submitted data to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Antimicrobial Use (AU) Option since January 2013. In response to high aztreonam use, the facility developed training and educational materials to evaluate the risk of an adverse reaction from beta-lactam administration in a patient whose recorded medical history included a penicillin allergy. Read More.
Posted On: June 18, 2019
Using Telehealth to Decrease Carbapenem Use in a Critical Access Hospital
Using NHSN Antimicrobial Use (AU) Option data submitted from 2013-2018, Intermountain Healthcare system compared carbapenem use among its facilities and identified an outlier. After meeting with the local stewardship physician and pharmacist champions, an active prospective audit and feedback approach was initiated using telehealth. Read More.
Posted On: April 16, 2019
Targeting a Reduction in Fluoroquinolone Use within a Community Hospital
Submitting data into the NHSN Antimicrobial Use (AU Option) since 2016, Wilson Medical Center, a community hospital in North Carolina, used AU Option data to identify an area of high fluoroquinolone use. Once the area of high use and hospital locations were pinpointed, they developed an intervention to address the issue. Read More.
Posted On: January 30, 2019
