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Impact of Mandatory Public Reporting of Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infections on Blood Culture and Antibiotic Utilization in Pediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care Units

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 April 2015

Kelly B. Flett*
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MassachusettsHarvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
Al Ozonoff
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsCenter for Patient Safety and Quality Research, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Dionne A. Graham
Affiliation:
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsCenter for Patient Safety and Quality Research, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Thomas J. Sandora
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MassachusettsHarvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsInfection Prevention and Control, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
Gregory P. Priebe
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MassachusettsHarvard Medical School, Boston, MassachusettsDivision of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
*
Address correspondence to Kelly B. Flett, MD, MMSc, Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (kelly.flett@childrens.harvard.edu).
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Abstract

BACKGROUND

As mandatory public reporting of healthcare-associated infections increases, there is concern that clinicians could attempt to decrease rates by avoiding the diagnosis of reportable infections.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether blood culture and antibiotic utilization changed after mandatory public reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI).

DESIGN

Interrupted time-series of blood culture and antibiotic rates before and after state-specific implementation of mandatory public reporting. We analyzed data from pediatric and neonatal intensive care units (ICUs) at 17 children’s hospitals that contributed to the Pediatric Health Information System administrative database. We used multivariable regression with generalized linear mixed-effects models to determine adjusted rate ratios (ARRs) after implementation of mandatory public reporting. We conducted subgroup analysis on patients with central venous catheters. To assess temporal trends, we separately analyzed data from 4 pediatric hospitals in states without mandatory public reporting.

RESULTS

There was no significant effect of mandatory public reporting on rates of blood culture (pediatric ICU ARR, 1.03 [95% CI, 0.82–1.28]; neonatal ICU ARR, 1.06 [0.85–1.33]) or antibiotic utilization (pediatric ICU ARR, 0.86 [0.72–1.04]; neonatal ICU ARR, 1.09 [0.87–1.35]). Results were similar in the subgroup of patients with central venous catheter codes. Hospitals with and without mandatory public reporting experienced small decreases in blood culture and antibiotic use across the study period.

CONCLUSIONS

Mandatory public reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infection did not impact blood culture and antibiotic utilization, suggesting that clinicians have not shifted their practice in an attempt to detect fewer infections.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015;36(8):878–885

Information

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
© 2015 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved 
Figure 0

TABLE 1PHIS Codes Used to Capture Central Venous Catheter Utilization

Figure 1

TABLE 2Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Characteristics Before and After Implementation of Mandatory Public Reporting of Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infection

Figure 2

FIGURE 1Unadjusted monthly rates of blood culture and antibiotic utilization before and after implementation of mandatory public reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infection. Time is shown relative to state-specific implementation months (month 0) with fitted trend lines indicating the period before and after implementation. P values represent the change in monthly rate after implementation of mandatory reporting. NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; PICU, pediatric intensive care unit.

Figure 3

TABLE 3Changes in Blood Culture and Antibiotic Utilization After Implementation of Mandatory Public Reporting of Central Line–Associated Bloodstream Infection

Figure 4

FIGURE 2Unadjusted monthly rates of blood culture and antibiotic utilization in 4 pediatric and neonatal intensive care units without mandatory public reporting of central line–associated bloodstream infection. Data represent the years spanned by our analysis of hospitals with mandatory public reporting, 2004–2012. Trend lines are fit to the unadjusted values. NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; PICU, pediatric intensive care unit.

Supplementary material: File

Flett supplementary material

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