Importance:Pediatric sepsis causes substantial morbidity and mortality, but population surveillance relies on administrative codes with limited and variable accuracy. Objective:To estimate US national incidence, mortality, and trends of sepsis in nonneonatal children using a Pediatric Sepsis Event (PSE) definition adapted from the 2024 Phoenix criteria for scalable electronic health record (EHR)-based surveillance using routinely captured clinical data. Design, Setting, and Participants:Retrospective cohort study of 3.9 million hospitalizations (age, >30 days to 17 years) in 2 EHR datasets: Epic Cosmos (245 health care systems, 2016-2023) and HCA Healthcare (146 hospitals, 2018-2023). Secondary datasets were analyzed to assess feasibility of implementation and face validity across heterogeneous settings. The PSE was validated through medical record reviews of 581 high-risk encounters at 3 geographically diverse hospitals. Exposures:A PSE required presumed infection with concurrent organ dysfunction using Phoenix-derived thresholds adapted for routine EHR data. Septic shock was defined as a PSE with cardiovascular dysfunction. Main Outcomes and Measures:Sepsis incidence, characteristics, and in-hospital mortality were calculated. Sensitivity and specificity of PSE for physician-adjudicated Phoenix sepsis were compared with administrative codes for severe sepsis/septic shock. National sepsis case counts and deaths in 2022 and temporal trends from 2016 to 2022 were estimated using regression models. Results:Among 3 925 809 pediatric hospitalizations from 2016 to 2023, 51 542 sepsis cases (mean age, 6.6 [SD, 6.0] years; 22 840 [44.3%] female) were identified (1.3% incidence); 37 405 (72.6%) were community onset and 31 744 (61.6%) had septic shock. In-hospital mortality was 10.1% and sepsis was present in 17.8% of hospitalizations that culminated in death. Incidence, characteristics, and mortality were broadly consistent across secondary datasets. On medical record review, the PSE definition had 69.9% sensitivity (95% CI, 58.1%-79.8%) and 93.1% specificity (95% CI, 89.6%-95.7%), with higher sensitivity than and comparable specificity with administrative codes. National estimates for 2022 were 18 231 sepsis cases (95% CI, 16 129-20 334) and 1877 deaths(95% CI, 1629-2126). Neither sepsis cases nor deaths changed significantly from 2016 to 2022 (annual change, 0.2% [95% CI, -2.2% to 2.7%] and 0.3% [95% CI, -3.1% to 3.8%], respectively). Conclusions and Relevance:An EHR-based definition for pediatric sepsis demonstrated strong validity compared with physician-adjudicated Phoenix sepsis and identified sepsis in 1.3% of pediatric hospitalizations with 10% mortality, corresponding to more than 18 000 cases and more than 1800 deaths annually in the US.

Background: Empiric extended-spectrum antibiotics are routinely given to patients with cancer despite low risk of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). This secondary analysis of the four INSPIRE (INtelligent Stewardship Prompts to Improve Real-time Empiric Antibiotic Selection) trials evaluated how computerized physician order entry (CPOE) prompts providing patient- and pathogen-specific MDRO risk estimates affected empiric extended-spectrum antibiotic use in patients with cancer. Methods: We identified non-critically ill hospitalized adults (> Results: Including all trials, 36,861 (18,272 baseline; 18,589 intervention) patients had cancer. Mean age was 69.0 (13.6); 48.0% (17,675) were male. Extended-spectrum antibiotic days-of-therapy decreased by 27% (95% CI:20-34%, PPPP Conclusions and Relevance: An antibiotic stewardship bundle that included CPOE prompts recommending standard-spectrum antibiotics for patients at low risk for antimicrobial-resistant infections reduced extended-spectrum antibiotic use in non-critically ill patients with cancer who were hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, UTI, abdominal infection, or SST, without observed differences in safety outcomes.

Background: Empiric extended-spectrum antibiotics are routinely given to patients with cancer despite low risk of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). This secondary analysis of the four INSPIRE (INtelligent Stewardship Prompts to Improve Real-time Empiric Antibiotic Selection) trials evaluated how computerized physician order entry (CPOE) prompts providing patient- and pathogen-specific MDRO risk estimates affected empiric extended-spectrum antibiotic use in patients with cancer. Methods: We identified non-critically ill hospitalized adults (> Results: Including all trials, 36,861 (18,272 baseline; 18,589 intervention) patients had cancer. Mean age was 69.0 (13.6); 48.0% (17,675) were male. Extended-spectrum antibiotic days-of-therapy decreased by 27% (95% CI:20-34%, PPPP Conclusions and Relevance: An antibiotic stewardship bundle that included CPOE prompts recommending standard-spectrum antibiotics for patients at low risk for antimicrobial-resistant infections reduced extended-spectrum antibiotic use in non-critically ill patients with cancer who were hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia, UTI, abdominal infection, or SST, without observed differences in safety outcomes.

Objective:To describe Candida auris infections from two different geographical regions within a large health-system, both of which have experienced a significant increase in the occurrence of C. auris. Design:Multicenter, retrospective, descriptive analysis across a large healthcare system. Methods:Patients were included in this study if they were admitted as an inpatient between January 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 and had a clinical specimen that grew C. auris. Results:A total of 321 patients were included. The clinical outcomes of included patients were comparable between geographical regions (Western and Eastern), with the exception of patients who experienced mortality or transitioned to hospice care at discharge (Western 32.1% vs Eastern 19.1%, P = .014). Over one-third of patients required mechanical ventilation at any point during their admission, while greater than half of the total study population had receipt of a blood transfusion. Approximately 25.2% of all patients received hemodialysis, while 24.3% received total parental nutrition during their hospital stay. More than 50% of patients in both regions required an admission to the intensive care unit at any time-frame during their stay. Fluconazole-resistant isolates were more prevalent in the Western region, but both regions demonstrated a high prevalence of resistance. Conclusion:Patients identified with C. auris were characterized by significant underlying morbidity and disease burden. Further studies are warranted to identify infection prevention best practices to reduce transmission and reduce mortality through earlier identification and appropriate antifungal therapy.

We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate racial disparities among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 using electronic health records from a large community-based health care system between March 2020 and February 2021. The primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and socioeconomic factors were analyzed using logistic regression, with adjusted odds ratios (AOR) reported. The study identified 90,490 patients, including Hispanic (29%), White (45.5%), Black (17.3%), Asian (3.1%), and Others (4.1%). The mortality model demonstrated a strong performance with an area under curve (AUC) of 0.88 (95%CI=0.877-0.885) and a Brier score of 0.093 (95%CI=0.092-0.095). For the 30-day readmission model, the AUC was 0.726 (95%CI=0.717-0.734) with a Brier score of 0.091 (95%CI=0.088-0.093). Compared with Whites, Hispanics exhibited a higher risk of mortality (AOR=1.23; 95%CI=1.16-1.31) but a lower likelihood of readmission (AOR=0.89; 95%CI=0.83-0.97). These findings highlight the critical need for targeted health management strategies across different racial and ethnic groups.

Abstract Background Up to 40% of hospitalized patients receive extended-spectrum (ES) antibiotics despite low risk of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection, increasing the risk for adverse effects and future resistance. We evaluated whether computerized physician order entry (CPOE) prompts providing patient-specific MDRO risk estimates could reduce ES antibiotic use compared to routine stewardship practices in patients hospitalized with skin and soft tissue (SST) infections. Methods This 92-hospital cluster-randomized trial compared CPOE prompts providing patient-specific absolute risk estimates for MDRO SST infection and recommending standard-spectrum antibiotics for risk < 10% vs. routine stewardship. Trial population: adults treated with antibiotics for SST infection in non-ICUs in the first 3 days of admission (empiric period). Prompts were triggered if ES antibiotics were ordered. Trial periods: 12-month Baseline (Jan 2019-Dec 2019); 5-month Phase-in (Aug 2022–Dec 2022); 12-month Intervention (Jan 2023-Dec 2023). Primary outcome: ES antibiotic days of therapy (ES-DOT) per patient per empiric day; secondary outcome was anti-pseudomonal DOT per empiric day. Unadjusted, as-randomized analyses used (1) generalized linear mixed effects models to assess differences in ES-DOT rates across intervention and baseline periods between groups, clustering by patient, hospital, and period and (2) proportional hazards models to assess safety outcomes: days to ICU transfer and hospital LOS. Results We randomized 92 hospitals in 15 states. Across the baseline and intervention periods there were 60,654 and 57,655 non-ICU patients with skin and soft tissue infection in the routine and CPOE prompt groups, respectively. The CPOE prompt group had a 28% reduction in ES-DOT compared to routine care (rate ratio 0.72 [95% CI 0.67-0.79], p< 0.001). Anti-pseudomonal DOT was reduced by 28% (Table, Figure 1) without significant differences in LOS or ICU transfers. Conclusion INSPIRE CPOE prompts providing patient-specific MDRO risk estimates recommending standard spectrum antibiotics in low risk patients significantly reduced empiric ES prescribing in adults admitted with skin and soft tissue infection. Disclosures Ken Kleinman, ScD, Xttrium Laboratories: Conducting studies in which participating hospital patients received contributed antiseptic products outside the submitted work Richard Platt, MD, MSc, GlaxoSmithKline: Contract to academic department|Janssen: Contract to academic department|Pfizer: Contract to academic department Susan Huang, MD, MPH, Xttrium Laboratories: Conducting studies in which participating hospital patients received contributed antiseptic products outside the submitted work

Abstract Background Up to 40% of hospitalized patients receive empiric extended-spectrum (ES) antibiotics despite low risk of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection, increasing the risk for adverse effects and future resistance. We evaluated whether computerized physician order entry (CPOE) prompts providing patient-specific MDRO risk estimates could reduce ES antibiotic use compared to routine stewardship in patients hospitalized with abdominal infections. Methods This 92-hospital cluster-randomized trial compared CPOE prompts providing patient-specific absolute risk estimates for MDRO abdominal infection and recommending standard-spectrum antibiotics for risk < 10% vs. routine stewardship. Trial population: adults treated with antibiotics for abdominal infection in non-ICUs in the first 3 days of admission (empiric period). Prompts were triggered if ES antibiotics were ordered. Trial periods: 12-month Baseline (Jan 2019-Dec 2019); 5-month Phase-in (Aug 2022–Dec 2022); 12-month Intervention (Jan 2023-Dec 2023). Primary outcome: ES antibiotic days of therapy (ES-DOT) per patient per empiric day; secondary outcomes were a) vancomycin and b) anti-pseudomonal DOT per empiric day. Unadjusted, as-randomized analyses used (1) generalized linear mixed effects models to assess differences in ES-DOT rates across intervention and baseline periods between groups clustering by patient, hospital, and period and (2) proportional hazards models to assess safety outcomes: days to ICU transfer and hospital LOS. Results We randomized 92 hospitals in 15 states. Across baseline and intervention periods there were 100,890 and 97,680 non-ICU patients with abdominal infection in the routine and CPOE prompt groups, respectively. The CPOE prompt group had a 35% reduction in ES-DOT compared to routine care (rate ratio 0.65 [95% CI 0.60-0.71], p< 0.001). Vancomycin and anti-pseudomonal DOT were reduced by 20% and 39%, respectively (Table, Figure 1) without significant differences in LOS or ICU transfers. Conclusion INSPIRE CPOE prompts providing patient-specific MDRO risk estimates recommending standard spectrum antibiotics in low risk patients significantly reduced empiric ES prescribing in adults admitted with abdominal infection. Disclosures Ken Kleinman, ScD, Xttrium Laboratories: Conducting studies in which participating hospital patients received contributed antiseptic products outside the submitted work Richard Platt, MD, MSc, GlaxoSmithKline: Contract to academic department|Janssen: Contract to academic department|Pfizer: Contract to academic department Susan Huang, MD, MPH, Xttrium Laboratories: Conducting studies in which participating hospital patients received contributed antiseptic products outside the submitted work

Importance:Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the second most common infection leading to hospitalization and is often associated with gram-negative multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Clinicians overuse extended-spectrum antibiotics although most patients are at low risk for MDRO infection. Safe strategies to limit overuse of empiric antibiotics are needed. Objective:To evaluate whether computerized provider order entry (CPOE) prompts providing patient- and pathogen-specific MDRO risk estimates could reduce use of empiric extended-spectrum antibiotics for treatment of UTI. Design, Setting, and Participants:Cluster-randomized trial in 59 US community hospitals comparing the effect of a CPOE stewardship bundle (education, feedback, and real-time and risk-based CPOE prompts; 29 hospitals) vs routine stewardship (n = 30 hospitals) on antibiotic selection during the first 3 hospital days (empiric period) in noncritically ill adults (≥18 years) hospitalized with UTI with an 18-month baseline (April 1, 2017-September 30, 2018) and 15-month intervention period (April 1, 2019-June 30, 2020). Interventions:CPOE prompts recommending empiric standard-spectrum antibiotics in patients ordered to receive extended-spectrum antibiotics who have low estimated absolute risk (<10%) of MDRO UTI, coupled with feedback and education. Main Outcomes and Measures:The primary outcome was empiric (first 3 days of hospitalization) extended-spectrum antibiotic days of therapy. Secondary outcomes included empiric vancomycin and antipseudomonal days of therapy. Safety outcomes included days to intensive care unit (ICU) transfer and hospital length of stay. Outcomes were assessed using generalized linear mixed-effect models to assess differences between the baseline and intervention periods. Results:Among 127 403 adult patients (71 991 baseline and 55 412 intervention period) admitted with UTI in 59 hospitals, the mean (SD) age was 69.4 (17.9) years, 30.5% were male, and the median Elixhauser Comorbidity Index count was 4 (IQR, 2-5). Compared with routine stewardship, the group using CPOE prompts had a 17.4% (95% CI, 11.2%-23.2%) reduction in empiric extended-spectrum days of therapy (rate ratio, 0.83 [95% CI, 0.77-0.89]; P < .001). The safety outcomes of mean days to ICU transfer (6.6 vs 7.0 days) and hospital length of stay (6.3 vs 6.5 days) did not differ significantly between the routine and intervention groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance:Compared with routine stewardship, CPOE prompts providing real-time recommendations for standard-spectrum antibiotics for patients with low MDRO risk coupled with feedback and education significantly reduced empiric extended-spectrum antibiotic use among noncritically ill adults admitted with UTI without changing hospital length of stay or days to ICU transfers. Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03697096.

Purpose While potential harm from high doses of systemic dexamethasone for clinical management of COVID-19 is an important concern, little is known about real world dexamethasone dosing in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States. Methods Descriptive study to assess dexamethasone daily dose in adults with COVID-19 in a large US hospital network, overall and by respiratory support requirements, extracted using semi- structured nursing notes. Results Of 332 430 hospitalizations with a COVID-19 diagnosis, 201 637 (60.7%) hospitalizations included dexamethasone administration. The mean age of recipients was 63 years, 53.0% were male, and 64.5% White. Median time from admission to dexamethasone administration was 0 day (interquartile range [IQR], 0-1 days) and median duration of use was 5 (IQR, 3-9) days. Almost 80% of hospitalizations received standard daily doses (<= 6 mg daily), 12.7% moderately high daily doses (> 6- <= 10 mg daily), and 8.1% high (> 10- <= 20 mg daily) or very high daily dose (> 20 mg daily). Over 20% of COVID-19 hospitalizations requiring no oxygen or simple oxygen received high doses of systemic dexamethasone. Conclusions Given the findings from the UK RECOVERY trial, and the general uncertainty around safety of higher dexamethasone doses in those requiring more intense respiratory support, standard daily dexamethasone doses of 6 mg or less for hospitalized COVID-19 requiring supplemental oxygen are recommended.

Importance Pneumonia is the most common infection requiring hospitalization and is a major reason for overuse of extended-spectrum antibiotics. Despite low risk of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection, clinical uncertainty often drives initial antibiotic selection. Strategies to limit empiric antibiotic overuse for patients with pneumonia are needed. Objective To evaluate whether computerized provider order entry (CPOE) prompts providing patient- and pathogen-specific MDRO infection risk estimates could reduce empiric extended-spectrum antibiotics for non-critically ill patients admitted with pneumonia. Design, Setting, and Participants Cluster-randomized trial in 59 US community hospitals comparing the effect of a CPOE stewardship bundle (education, feedback, and real-time MDRO risk-based CPOE prompts; n = 29 hospitals) vs routine stewardship (n = 30 hospitals) on antibiotic selection during the first 3 hospital days (empiric period) in non-critically ill adults (>= 18 years) hospitalized with pneumonia. There was an 18-month baseline period from April 1, 2017, to September 30, 2018, and a 15-month intervention period from April 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020. Intervention CPOE prompts recommending standard-spectrum antibiotics in patients ordered to receive extended-spectrum antibiotics during the empiric period who have low estimated absolute risk (<10%) of MDRO pneumonia, coupled with feedback and education. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was empiric (first 3 days of hospitalization) extended-spectrum antibiotic days of therapy. Secondary outcomes included empiric vancomycin and antipseudomonal days of therapy and safety outcomes included days to intensive care unit (ICU) transfer and hospital length of stay. Outcomes compared differences between baseline and intervention periods across strategies. Results Among 59 hospitals with 96 451 (51 671 in the baseline period and 44 780 in the intervention period) adult patients admitted with pneumonia, the mean (SD) age of patients was 68.1 (17.0) years, 48.1% were men, and the median (IQR) Elixhauser comorbidity count was 4 (2-6). Compared with routine stewardship, the group using CPOE prompts had a 28.4% reduction in empiric extended-spectrum days of therapy (rate ratio, 0.72 [95% CI, 0.66-0.78]; P < .001). Safety outcomes of mean days to ICU transfer (6.5 vs 7.1 days) and hospital length of stay (6.8 vs 7.1 days) did not differ significantly between the routine and CPOE intervention groups. Conclusions and Relevance Empiric extended-spectrum antibiotic use was significantly lower among adults admitted with pneumonia to non-ICU settings in hospitals using education, feedback, and CPOE prompts recommending standard-spectrum antibiotics for patients at low risk of MDRO infection, compared with routine stewardship practices. Hospital length of stay and days to ICU transfer were unchanged. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03697070

Background: Indwelling urinary catheters (UCs) generate biofilm that grows over time, raising concern that after several days any culture from a UC may generate a false positive result. Whether and when to replace a UC prior to culture is controversial, with prior studies recommending anywhere from 3 to 14 days as appropriate, but with no conclusive data. We evaluated urine culture results across a large healthcare system where, beginning in 2019, some facilities adopted the practice of changing UC before collection if indwelling for 3 days or more. Method: Analysis was from nursing electronic health record documentation of UC changes and urine cultures collected on patients with indwelling UC in 2022. UC changes were defined as a stop followed by a start within 12 hours. Patient exclusion criteria included a UC other than “temporary/indwelling” and surgical procedure during the admission. Statistics applied Pearson’s Chi-squared test with Yates continuity correction using R Core Team (2023) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Result: Total UC episodes meeting criteria was 88,347 across 152 acute care hospitals. Episodes in days was 0-3 for 65%, 4-9 for 29% and >9 for 6%. Most urine cultures were taken at 3 days (p UC Changed? Culture Negative Culture Positive No 4916 (98.8%) 61 (1.2%) Yes 588 (98.7%) 8 (1.3%) Cultures were positive at the same rate whether a UC change occurred or not at >3 days (p=0.96). No difference was found in NHSN reported CAUTI prevalence among the UC change vs. no change in the >3 day groups. Conclusion: Urine culture results do not appear to be impacted by UC change as early as 3 days. UC change without benefit may generate unnecessary costs and complications.

BACKGROUND:Detection and containment of hospital outbreaks currently depend on variable and personnel-intensive surveillance methods. Whether automated statistical surveillance for outbreaks of health care-associated pathogens allows earlier containment efforts that would reduce the size of outbreaks is unknown. METHODS:We conducted a cluster-randomized trial in 82 community hospitals within a larger health care system. All hospitals followed an outbreak response protocol when outbreaks were detected by their infection prevention programs. Half of the hospitals additionally used statistical surveillance of microbiology data, which alerted infection prevention programs to outbreaks. Statistical surveillance was also applied to microbiology data from control hospitals without alerting their infection prevention programs. The primary outcome was the number of additional cases occurring after outbreak detection. Analyses assessed differences between the intervention period (July 2019 to January 2022) versus baseline period (February 2017 to January 2019) between randomized groups. A post hoc analysis separately assessed pre-coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) and Covid-19 pandemic intervention periods. RESULTS:Real-time alerts did not significantly reduce the number of additional outbreak cases (intervention period versus baseline: statistical surveillance relative rate [RR]=1.41, control RR=1.81; difference-in-differences, 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40 to 1.52; P=0.46). Comparing only the prepandemic intervention with baseline periods, the statistical outbreak surveillance group was associated with a 64.1% reduction in additional cases (statistical surveillance RR=0.78, control RR=2.19; difference-in-differences, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.99). There was no similarly observed association between the pandemic versus baseline periods (statistical surveillance RR=1.56, control RR=1.66; difference-in-differences, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.46 to 1.92). CONCLUSIONS:Automated detection of hospital outbreaks using statistical surveillance did not reduce overall outbreak size in the context of an ongoing pandemic. (Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04053075. Support for HCA Healthcare's participation in the study was provided in kind by HCA.).

Study Design:Retrospective cohort study.Objective:To characterize variation in dexamethasone and remdesivir use over time among hospitals.Background:Little is known about hospital-level variation in COVID-19 drug treatments in a large and diverse network in the United States.Methods:We selected individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 across 163 hospitals between February 23, 2020 and October 31, 2021 from using the HCA CHARGE, an electronic health record repository from a network of community health care facilities in the United States. We quantified receipt of dexamethasone, remdesivir, and combined use of dexamethasone and remdesivir during the hospital stay. We used 2-level logistic regression models to determine the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) at the hospital level, adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics. The ICC shows the proportion of total variation in drug use accounted for by hospitals.Results:Among 161,667 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19, 73.0% were treated with dexamethasone, 49.1% with remdesivir, and 45.0% with both dexamethasone and remdesivir. The proportion of variation in dexamethasone use was 12.7% (adjusted ICC: 0.127), 8.5% for remdesivir, and 11.3% for combined drug use, indicating low interhospital variation. In the fully adjusted models, between-facility variation in dexamethasone use declined from 34.1% in February-March 2020 to 11.3% in January-March 2021 and then increased to 17.3% in July-October 2021. The variation in remdesivir use remained relatively stable during the study period.Conclusions:During the first 2 years of the pandemic, there was relatively consistent use of dexamethasone and remdesivir across the hospitals examined. Consistent adoption and implementation of treatment guidelines across the hospitals examined may have led to a decrease in variation in drug usage over time.

Introduction During the COVID-19 pandemic, inpatient electronic health records (EHRs) have been used to conduct public health surveillance and assess treatments and outcomes. Invasive mechanical ventilation (MV) and supplemental oxygen (O2) use are markers of severe illness in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. In a large US system (n = 142 hospitals), we assessed documentation of MV and O2 use during COVID-19 hospitalization in administrative data versus nursing documentation. Methods We identified 319 553 adult hospitalizations with a COVID-19 diagnosis, February 2020-October 2022, and extracted coded, administrative data for MV or O-2. Separately, we developed classification rules for MV or O-2 supplementation from semi-structured nursing documentation. We assessed MV and O-2 supplementation in administrative data versus nursing documentation and calculated ordinal endpoints of decreasing COVID-19 disease severity. Nursing documentation was considered the gold standard in sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) analyses. Results In nursing documentation, the prevalence of MV and O-2 supplementation among COVID-19 hospitalizations was 14% and 75%, respectively. The sensitivity of administrative data was 83% for MV and 41% for O2, with both PPVs above 91%. Concordance between sources was 97% for MV (kappa = 0.85), and 54% for O2 (kappa = 0.21). For ordinal endpoints, administrative data accurately identified intensive care and MV but underestimated hospitalizations with O2 requirements (42% vs. 18%). Conclusions In comparison to nursing documentation, administrative data under-ascertained O2 supplementation but accurately estimated severe endpoints such as MV. Nursing documentation improved ascertainment of O2 among COVID-19 hospitalizations and can capture oxygen requirements in adults hospitalized with COVID-19 or other respiratory illnesses.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services require hospitals to report on quality metrics which are used to financially penalize those that perform in the lowest quartile. Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a critical component of the quality metrics that target healthcare-associated infections. However, the accuracy of such hospital profiling is highly affected by small surgical volumes which lead to a large amount of uncertainty in estimating standardized hospital-specific infection rates. Currently, hospitals with less than one expected SSI are excluded from rankings, but the effectiveness of this exclusion criterion is unknown. Tools that can quantify the classification accuracy and can determine the minimal surgical volume required for a desired level of accuracy are lacking. We investigate the effect of surgical volume on the accuracy of identifying poorly performing hospitals based on the standardized infection ratio and develop simulation-based algorithms for quantifying the classification accuracy. We apply our proposed method to data from HCA Healthcare (2014–2016) on SSIs in colon surgery patients. We estimate that for a procedure like colon surgery with an overall SSI rate of 3%, to rank hospitals in the HCA colon SSI dataset, hospitals that perform less than 200 procedures have a greater than 10% chance of being incorrectly assigned to the worst performing quartile. Minimum surgical volumes and predicted events criteria are required to make evaluating hospitals reliable, and these criteria vary by overall prevalence and between-hospital variability.

Introduction: Vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheaths (V-UASs) are a new tool designed to evacuate dust or small fragments during retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). There are reports of increased stone-free rates, decreased infections, and decreased operative time with V-UAS usage. The optimal technique and setting for V-UAS has yet to be described. Herein, we investigate real-time intrarenal pressure (IRP) throughout a range of settings using V-UAS in a porcine RIRS model. Materials and Methods: Ureteroscopy was performed in three female porcine cadaver kidneys through a ClearPetra V-UAS. IRP was recorded through a percutaneous catheter at different inflow pressures, sheath sizes, sheath distance from the ureteropelvic junction, and suction settings. Magnitude of change in delta IRP (dIRP) was compared at various settings. Results: There was no statistical difference in IRP when comparing no suction with vent inactivated. As expected, IRP decreased with larger sheath size and lower irrigation pressures. Average IRP dropped ∼18 mm Hg with suction activation (42.30 mm Hg, vent inactivated; 24.45 mm Hg IRP, suction activated; p < 0.0001). Irrigation pressure and sheath size did not make a difference in the dIRP. dIRP was significantly greater at lower suction settings compared with max suction (25.44 dIRP at 200 mm Hg suction, 10.26 mm Hg dIRP at max suction, p = 0.04). In a subset of observations, IRP paradoxically increased to higher than IRP with no suction at all after >5 seconds of activated suction. Conclusion: Use of V-UAS during RIRS can lower mean IRP; however, this effect could reverse with extended suctioning especially under conditions of high vacuum (>200 mm Hg) owing to outflow tract collapse. Our results suggest urologists should use lower suction settings and short, <5-second bursts to maximize therapeutic benefit, and minimize potential shortcomings of V-UAS during RIRS.