Combination of a Rapid Diagnostic Assay and Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention for Gram-Negative Bacteremia

Background: Traditional blood cultures for gram-negative bacteremia can take up to 72 hours or more to return results, prolonging the duration of empiric broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics. The Accelerate Pheno system provides rapid identification and susceptibilities for blood cultures in gram-negative bacteremia. Current data on its clinical utility are mixed overall, so the system requires further research.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective quasi-experimental study was conducted comparing the Accelerate Pheno rapid diagnostic system with antimicrobial stewardship intervention and traditional blood cultures alone.

Results: A total of 264 patients with blood cultures with gram-negative bacteria growth were included in the final analysis (102 pre-intervention, 162 post-intervention). The antimicrobial stewardship team made 364 recommendations in 152/162 (93.8%) patients in the post group. Duration of intravenous therapy was shorter ( < .001) for the post-intervention group (median, 4.0 days) compared with the pre-intervention group (median, 7.5 days). Hospital length of stay was also shorter ( < .001) for the post-intervention group (median, 5.1 days) compared with the pre-intervention group (median, 7.0 days). Readmission rates within 30 days were reduced ( = .042) post-intervention (13.0%) compared with pre-intervention (22.6%). In the post-intervention group, a larger proportion of patients were transitioned to oral therapy at any point (126/162, 77.8%) compared with pre-intervention (62/102, 60.8%; < .001).

Conclusions: These results suggest that the Accelerate Pheno system, with active review and intervention by a multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship team, is a useful tool in improving both patient-centric and antimicrobial stewardship outcomes.