title: Impact of Infectious Diseases Consultation on Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia in a Community Health System.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) causes high rates of morbidity and death. Several studies in academic health settings have demonstrated that consultations from infectious diseases specialists improve the quality of care and clinical outcomes for SAB. Few data that describe the impact in resource-limited settings such as community hospitals are available. This retrospective cohort study evaluated the adherence to quality-of-care indicators and the clinical outcomes for SAB in a five-hospital community health system (range of 95 to 272 available beds per hospital), for patients with versus without infectious diseases consultation (IDC). IDC was provided if requested by the attending physician. The primary outcome was the incidence of treatment failure, defined as 30-day in-hospital death or 90-day SAB recurrence. Other outcomes included adherence to quality-of-care indicators. A total of 473 adult patients with SAB were included, with 369 (78%) receiving IDC. We identified substantial differences in baseline characteristics between the IDC group and the no-IDC group, including greater incidences of complicated bacteremia and intravenous drug users in the IDC group, with similar rates of severe illness (measured by Pitt bacteremia scores). Adherence to quality-of-care indicators was greater for patients with IDC (P < 0.001). After adjustment for other predicting variables, IDC was associated with a lower rate of treatment failure (adjusted odds ratio, 0.42 [95% confidence interval, 0.20 to 0.86]; P = 0.018). IDC provided better quality of care and better clinical outcomes for patients with SAB who were treated at small, resource-limited, community hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Legacy Health, Portland, Oregon, USA Pacific University School of Pharmacy, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA brigg.turner@pacificu.edu.
authors.forename: R Brigg
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Legacy Health, Portland, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Valcarlos
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Legacy Health, Portland, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Won
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Legacy Health, Portland, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Pacific University School of Pharmacy, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003153:Community Health Services; D005260:Female; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D009922:Oregon; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016896:Treatment Outcome