Background: Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen increasingly recognized as a cause of healthcare-associated infections including outbreaks. Methods: We performed a mixed-methods study to characterize the emergence of C. auris in the state of Maryland from 2019 to 2022, with a focus on socioeconomic vulnerability and infection prevention opportunities. We describe all case-patients of C. auris among Maryland residents from June 2019 to December 2021 detected by Maryland Department of Health. We compared neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) with and without C. auris transmission outbreaks using both the social vulnerability index (SVI) and the area deprivation index (ADI). The SVI and the ADI were obtained at the state level, with an SVI ≥ 75th percentile or an ADI ≥ 80th percentile considered severely disadvantaged. We summarized infection control assessments at SNFs with outbreaks using a qualitative analysis. Results: A total of 140 individuals tested positive for C. auris in the study period in Maryland; 46 (33%) had a positive clinical culture. Sixty (43%) were associated with a SNF, 37 (26%) were ventilated, and 87 (62%) had a documented wound. Separate facility-level neighborhood analysis showed SNFs with likely C. auris transmission were disproportionately located in neighborhoods in the top quartile of deprivation by the SVI, characterized by low socioeconomic status and high proportion of racial/ethnic minorities. Multiple infection control deficiencies were noted at these SNFs. Conclusion: Neighborhood socioeconomic vulnerability may contribute to the emergence and transmission of C. auris in a community.

Abstract Background Recent advancements in treating Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) include therapeutics to prevent further recurrence in patients with recurrent CDI (rCDI). However, little is known about which patients are at increased risk for multiple recurrences (≥ 2 rCDI). We sought to identify predictors of multiple rCDI (mrCDI) in adults at the time of presentation with initial CDI (iCDI). Methods The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infections Program (EIP) conducts population-based CDI surveillance in 10 U.S. sites. We defined iCDI as a positive C. difficile test during January 2018–August 2019 in a person aged ≥ 18 years with no prior positive test reported to EIP. rCDI was defined as a positive test ≥ 14 days from the previous positive test within 180 days after iCDI. All patients with community-onset iCDI and a random sample of patients with healthcare-facility onset iCDI (i.e., hospital-onset, long-term care facility onset) had full chart reviews. Multiple imputation was performed on missing race/ethnicity. Candidate variables determined a priori to be potentially associated with mrCDI were entered into an initial multivariable logistic regression model. Patients without mrCDI who died within 180 days of their iCDI were excluded from the model. Candidate variables with a p-value < 0.1 in the initial model were included in the final model. Results Of 18,829 patients with iCDI, 882 (4.7%) had mrCDI, ranging from 2 to 5 rCDI per patient in the 180 days following iCDI. Median time between each rCDI was 43 days (interquartile range: 27–65 days). Full charts were reviewed for 435 iCDI patients with mrCDI and 7474 iCDI patients without mrCDI. Characteristics of patients with and without mrCDI are shown in Table 1. In multivariable analysis, age ≥ 65 years, recent hospitalization, chronic hemodialysis, and recent nitrofurantoin use were significantly associated with mrCDI (Table 2). Conclusion Patients with iCDI who are older, on hemodialysis, or had recent hospitalization or nitrofurantoin use may be at increased risk of mrCDI and may benefit from early use of adjunctive therapy to prevent mrCDI. If confirmed, these findings would aid in clinical decision making. Disclosures Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, Pfizer: Grant/Research Support

Infections cause substantial morbidity and mortality among patients receiving care in outpatient hemodialysis facilities. We describe comprehensive infection prevention assessments by US public health departments using standardized interview and observation tools. Results demonstrated how facility layouts can undermine infection prevention and that clinical practices often fall short of policies.

Background: Understanding characteristics of healthcare personnel (HCP) with SARS-CoV-2 infection supports the development and prioritization of interventions to protect this important workforce. We report detailed characteristics of HCP who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 from April 20, 2020 through December 31, 2021.Methods: CDC collaborated with Emerging Infections Program sites in 10 states to interview HCP with SARS-CoV-2 infection (case-HCP) about their demographics, underlying medical conditions, healthcare roles, exposures, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and COVID-19 vaccination status. We grouped case-HCP by healthcare role. To describe residential social vulnerability, we merged geocoded HCP residential addresses with CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) values at the census tract level. We defined highest and lowest SVI quartiles as high and low social vulnerability, respectively.Results: Our analysis included 7,531 case-HCP. Most case-HCP with roles as certified nursing assistant (CNA) (444, 61.3%), medical assistant (252, 65.3%), or home healthcare worker (HHW) (225, 59.5%) reported their race and ethnicity as either non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic. More than one third of HHWs (166, 45.2%), CNAs (283, 41.7%), and medical assistants (138, 37.9%) reported a residential address in the high social vulnerability category. The proportion of case-HCP who reported using recommended PPE at all times when caring for patients with COVID-19 was lowest among HHWs compared with other roles.Conclusions: To mitigate SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in healthcare settings, infection prevention, and control interventions should be specific to HCP roles and educational backgrounds. Additional interventions are needed to address high social vulnerability among HHWs, CNAs, and medical assistants.

Importance To date, only 1 statewide prevalence survey has been performed for Acinetobacter baumannii (2009) in the US, and no statewide prevalence survey has been performed for Candida auris, making the current burden of these emerging pathogens unknown.Objective To determine the prevalence of A baumannii and C auris among patients receiving mechanical ventilation in Maryland.Design, Setting, and Participants The Maryland Multi-Drug Resistant Organism Prevention Collaborative performed a statewide cross-sectional point prevalence of patients receiving mechanical ventilation admitted to acute care hospitals (n = 33) and long-term care facilities (n = 18) between March 7, 2023, and June 8, 2023. Surveillance cultures (sputum, perianal, arm/leg, and axilla/groin) were obtained from all patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Sputum, perianal, and arm/leg cultures were tested for A baumannii and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed. Axilla/groin cultures were tested by polymerase chain reaction for C auris.Main Outcomes and Measures Prevalence of A baumannii, carbapenem-resistant A baumannii (CRAB), and C auris. Prevalence was stratified by type of facility.Results All 51 eligible health care facilities (100%) participated in the survey. A total of 482 patients receiving mechanical ventilation were screened for A baumannii and 470 were screened for C auris. Among the 482 patients who had samples collected, 30.7% (148/482) grew A baumannii, 88 of the 148 (59.5%) of these A baumannii were CRAB, and C auris was identified in 31 of 470 (6.6%). Patients in long-term care facilities were more likely to be colonized with A baumannii (relative risk [RR], 7.66 [95% CI, 5.11-11.50], P < .001), CRAB (RR, 5.48 [95% CI, 3.38-8.91], P < .001), and C auris (RR, 1.97 [95% CI, 0.99-3.92], P = .05) compared with patients in acute care hospitals. Nine patients (29.0%) with cultures positive for C auris were previously unreported to the Maryland Department of Health.Conclusions A baumannii, carbapenem-resistant A baumannii, and C auris were common among patients receiving mechanical ventilation in both acute care hospitals and long-term care facilities. Both pathogens were significantly more common in long-term care facilities than in acute care hospitals. Patients receiving mechanical ventilation in long-term care facilities are a high-risk population for emerging pathogens, and surveillance and prevention efforts should be targeted to these facilities.

Among nursing home outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with ≥3 breakthrough infections when the predominant severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant circulating was the SARS-CoV-2 δ (delta) variant, fully vaccinated residents were 28% less likely to be infected than were unvaccinated residents. Once infected, they had approximately half the risk for all-cause hospitalization and all-cause death compared with unvaccinated infected residents.

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Abstract Background Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen increasingly recognized as a cause of healthcare-associated infections including outbreaks. The first case of transmission was detected in Maryland in June 2019. This study aims to describe characteristics of patients with C. auris and determine if patients were more likely to reside in a disadvantaged neighborhood or receive care from a nursing home in a disadvantaged area. Figure 1. Vulnerability Index of C. auris Patients in the State of Maryland. Severely disadvantaged is defined as SVI percentile ranking greater than or equal to the 75th percentile. Red indicates the percentage of C. auris patients living in severely disadvantaged census tracts. Methods We performed a descriptive analysis of all cases of C. auris among Maryland residents from June 2019 to December 2021. Maryland Department of Health conducted active surveillance through point prevalence surveys around newly detected cases. We geocoded patient home addresses and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) with outbreaks to assign a census block group or tract. The social vulnerability index (SVI) and the area deprivation index (ADI) were obtained at the state level, with an SVI ≥ 75th percentile or an ADI ≥ 80th percentile considered severely disadvantaged consistent with prior work. Results 140 individuals tested positive for C. auris in the study period. The median age was 68 (IQR 53-74), and 91 (65%) case-patients were male. 46 (33%) of case-patients had a positive clinical culture while 100 were detected on surveillance PCR-positive screening swabs. 60 (43%) of case-patients resided at a SNF. 37 (26%) of case-patients were ventilated and 87 (62%) had a documented wound. 33 (28%) case-patients, with an identifiable address, resided in severely disadvantaged neighborhoods. C. auris patients disproportionately came from neighborhoods with higher crowding, higher proportions of uninsured, and racial/ethnic minority status (Figure 1). 30% of SNFs with C. auris transmission were in neighborhoods in the bottom 20th percentile of state neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage. Conclusion Neighborhood socioeconomic vulnerability may play a role in the emergence and transmission of C. auris in a community. Further work is needed to understand patient-level risk factors as well as how staffing levels and care environments in SNFs are affected by neighborhood socioeconomic factors. Disclosures Lauren Leigh Smith, MD, MAS, LEAP Fellowship: Grant/Research Support

SARS-CoV-2 infections among vaccinated nursing home residents increased after the Omicron variant emerged. Data on booster dose effectiveness in this population are limited. During July 2021-March 2022, nursing home out-breaks in 11 US jurisdictions involving >3 infections within 14 days among residents who had received at least the primary COVID-19 vaccine(s) were monitored. Among 2,188 nursing homes, 1,247 outbreaks were reported in the periods of Delta (n = 356, 29%), mixed Delta/Omicron (n = 354, 28%), and Omicron (n = 536, 43%) predomi-nance. During the Omicron-predominant period, the risk for infection within 14 days of an outbreak start was low-er among boosted residents than among residents who had received the primary vaccine series alone (risk ratio [RR] 0.25, 95% CI 0.19-0.33). Once infected, boosted residents were at lower risk for all-cause hospitalization (RR 0.48, 95% CI 0.40-0.49) and death (RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.34-0.59) than primary vaccine-only residents.

Abstract Background To date, only one statewide prevalence survey has been performed for Acinetobacter baumannii (2009) in the United States, and no statewide prevalence survey has been performed for Candida auris. We aimed to determine the prevalence of A. baumannii and C. auris among mechanically ventilated patients in Maryland. Methods The Maryland MDRO Prevention Collaborative performed a statewide point prevalence survey of mechanically ventilated patients admitted to acute care hospitals (ACH) and long-term care (LTC) facilities between March 7, 2023, and June 8, 2023. Surveillance cultures were obtained from all mechanically ventilated patients. Sputum, peri-anal, and arm/leg cultures were cultured for A. baumannii and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed. Axilla/groin cultures were tested by PCR for C. auris. Results One hundred percent of all eligible healthcare facilities participated. 482 ventilated patients were included in the analysis. A. baumannii was cultured from at least one body site in 148/482 (31%) patients, CRAB was identified in 88/482 (18%) patients and C. auris in 31/470 (7%) patients. LTC patients were more likely to be colonized with A. baumannii (RR 7.7, 95% CI 5.1-11.5, p< .0001), with CRAB (RR 5.5, 95% CI 3.4-8.9, p< .0001) and C. auris (RR 2.0, CI 0.99-3.9, p=.05) compared to acute care hospital patients (Figure 1). Nine (29%) C. auris-positive patients were previously unknown to the Maryland Department of Health. Susceptibilities for A. baumannii are in Table 1. Figure 1: Prevalence of A. baumannii, carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii, and C. auris stratified by type of facility. Figure 2. Resistance Mechanisms in Carbapenem-Resistant Isolates (N=88) Table 1: Antimicrobial Data: All patient A. baumannii isolates demonstrating antimicrobial susceptibility, N (% susceptible) Conclusion A. baumannii, CRAB and C. auris colonization are common among mechanically ventilated patients in both ACH and LTC facilities. Both pathogens were significantly more common in long-term care facilities than acute care facilities. Ventilated long-term care patients are an extremely high-risk population for emerging pathogens and surveillance and infection prevention efforts should be targeted to these facilities. Disclosures Anthony Harris, MD, MPH, Merck: Grant/Research Support|UpToDate: Infection Control Editor

Background:Most multicenter studies of US pediatric sepsis epidemiology use administrative data or focus on pediatric intensive care units. We conducted a detailed medical record review to describe sepsis epidemiology in children and young adults.Methods:In a convenience sample of hospitals in 10 states, patients aged 30 days-21 years, discharged during 1 October 2014-30 September 2015, with explicit diagnosis codes for severe sepsis or septic shock, were included. Medical records were reviewed for patients with documentation of sepsis, septic shock, or similar terms. We analyzed overall and age group-specific patient characteristics.Results:Of 736 patients in 26 hospitals, 442 (60.1%) had underlying conditions. Most patients (613 [83.3%]) had community-onset sepsis, although most community-onset sepsis was healthcare associated (344 [56.1%]). Two hundred forty-one patients (32.7%) had outpatient visits 1-7 days before sepsis hospitalization, of whom 125 (51.9%) received antimicrobials ≤30 days before sepsis hospitalization. Age group-related differences included common underlying conditions (<5 years: prematurity vs 5-12 years: chronic pulmonary disease vs 13-21 years: chronic immunocompromise); medical device presence ≤30 days before sepsis hospitalization (1-4 years: 46.9% vs 30 days-11 months: 23.3%); percentage with hospital-onset sepsis (<5 years: 19.6% vs ≥5 years: 12.0%); and percentage with sepsis-associated pathogens (30 days-11 months: 65.6% vs 13-21 years: 49.3%).Conclusions:Our data suggest potential opportunities to raise sepsis awareness among outpatient providers to facilitate prevention, early recognition, and intervention in some patients. Consideration of age-specific differences may be important as approaches are developed to improve sepsis prevention, risk prediction, recognition, and management.

Abstract Background While many Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) rates increased during the pandemic, inpatient C. difficile infection (CDI) rates declined. We compared pre-pandemic (2018-2019) to interpandemic (2020-2021) data, using Maryland’s population-based surveillance data collected through the Emerging Infections Program’s CDI HAIC project, to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on decreases in CDI within different epidemiologic classes (epi classes): HCFO, CO-HCFA, CA (Tables 1 & 2).Table 1.Epidemiologic class definitions for Clostridioides difficile incident (CDI) case classifications determined by the Emerging Infection Program’s HAIC project.Table 2.Chi-square crosstabulation of Epidemiologic class Clostridioides difficile incident (CDI) case counts observed and expected pre- and interpandemic. Note: the turquoise-colored text is the expected chi-square case counts while the black text is the observed case counts. Methods Using logistic regression, we examined changes in epi class, prior antibiotic use, and basic demographics. We used crosstabulation chi-square analysis to determine proportional differences in case characteristics, pre- and interpandemic. All analyses were conducted using R version 4.2.2.Table 3.Three independent logistic regression models to determine if epidemiologic case classification is dependent on period of CDI case (Model: Interpandemic = HCFO, Interpandemic = HCFO-LTCF (HCFO-Hospital Ref.), Interpandemic = CA, Interpandemic = CO-HCFA). Results Between 2018-2021, we identified 3,822 CDI cases: 1,142 HCFO; 771 CO-HCFA; and 1,898 CA and 11 with incomplete data. Interpandemic cases were 24% less likely to be CA and 31% more likely to be CO-HCFA (Table 3, p< 0.001) than pre-pandemic cases. Though cases were 13% more likely to be classified HCFO, this increase was not significant between periods (Table 3, p=0.09). However, differences were identified between HCFO-LTCF and HCFO-Hospital where HCFO-LTCF cases were 26% less likely interpandemic than HCFO-Hospital cases (Table 4, p< 0.05; Table 3, p=0.04; respectively). Antibiotic use ≤12 weeks prior to collection did not change significantly (Table 5, p=0.7). All-cause hospital admission was 27% less likely interpandemic (p< 0.05). Though our catchment area is predominately White, Black/African American case counts increased while case counts in all other races declined and no differences were observed between sexes (Table 6, p< 0.001; Table 7, p=0.3; respectively).Table 4.Chi-square crosstabulation of HCFO Epidemiologic class Clostridioides difficile incident (CDI) case counts observed and expected pre- and interpandemic to determine where within HCFO classification between periods declines in CDI were more observed. Note: Not all HCFO designated cases are included ONLY those that were in a LTCF or Hospital 3 days prior to CDI collection date. Also, the turquoise-colored text is the expected chi-square case counts while the black text is the observed case counts.Table 5.Chi-square crosstabulation comparing CDI case counts with Antibiotic Use 12 weeks prior to C. difficile culture collection date pre-pandemic and interpandemic. Note: the turquoise-colored text is the expected chi-square case counts while the black text is the observed case counts.Table 6.Chi-square crosstabulation comparing CDI case counts of Race pre-pandemic and interpandemic. Maryland’s CDI cases are predominately White/Caucasian with the Black/African American group as the second highest racial group for our surveillance site. Comparing these two groups between these time periods is important to identify the total decline of CDI cases interpandemic. Further investigations should be conducted to better understand why this minority group’s CDI case counts increased during the COVID-19 Pandemic while all others declined. Note: the turquoise-colored text is the expected chi-square case counts while the black text is the observed case counts. Conclusion Overall CDI case counts declined during the COVID-19 pandemic across all epi classes. The rate of decline of CA was greater than the decrease in CO-HCFA cases. HCFO-LTCF cases declined more than HCFO-Hospital cases. Unexplained case rate differences between races raise health equity concerns needing exploration. Further investigation may determine whether changes in healthcare seeking behavior, changes in infection prevention methods in LTCFs, local COVID-19 restrictions, or other factors may have impacted CDI rates.Table 7.Chi-square crosstabulation comparing CDI case counts of Sex pre-pandemic and interpandemic. Note: the turquoise-colored text is the expected chi-square case counts while the black text is the observed case counts. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

To evaluate changes in Clostridioides difficile incidence rates for Maryland hospitals that participated in the Statewide Prevention and Reduction of C. difficile (SPARC) collaborative. Pre-post, difference-in-difference analysis of non-randomised intervention using four quarters of preintervention and six quarters of postintervention National Healthcare Safety Network data for SPARC hospitals (April 2017 to March 2020) and 10 quarters for control hospitals (October 2017 to March 2020). Mixed-effects negative binomial models were used to assess changes over time. Process evaluation using hospital intervention implementation plans, assessments and interviews with staff at eight SPARC hospitals. Maryland, USA. All Maryland acute care hospitals; 12 intervention and 36 control hospitals. Participation in SPARC, a public health-academic collaborative made available to Maryland hospitals, with staggered enrolment between June 2018 and August 2019. Hospitals with higher C. difficile rates were recruited via email and phone. SPARC included assessments, feedback reports and ongoing technical assistance. Primary outcomes were C. difficile incidence rate measured as the quarterly number of C. difficile infections per 10 000 patient-days (outcome measure) and SPARC intervention hospitals' experiences participating in the collaborative (process measures). SPARC invited 13 hospitals to participate in the intervention, with 92% (n=12) participating. The 36 hospitals that did not participate served as control hospitals. SPARC hospitals were associated with 45% greater C. difficile reduction as compared with control hospitals (incidence rate ratio=0.55, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.88, p=0.012). Key SPARC activities, including access to trusted external experts, technical assistance, multidisciplinary collaboration, an accountability structure, peer-to-peer learning opportunities and educational resources, were associated with hospitals reporting positive experiences with SPARC. SPARC intervention hospitals experienced 45% greater reduction in C. difficile rates than control hospitals. A public health-academic collaborative might help reduce C. difficile and other hospital-acquired infections in individual hospitals and at state or regional levels.

Among persons with an initial Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) across 10 US sites in 2018 compared with 2013, 18.3% versus 21.1% had ≥1 recurrent CDI (rCDI) within 180 days. We observed a 16% lower adjusted risk of rCDI in 2018 versus 2013 (P < .0001).

We evaluated the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and community-associated Clostridioides difficile infection (CA-CDI) incidence across 2474 census tracts in 10 states. Highly correlated community-level SES variables were transformed into distinct factors using factor analysis. We found low SES communities were associated with higher CA-CDI incidence.

Healthcare personnel with severe acute respiratory coronavirus virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were interviewed to describe activities and practices in and outside the workplace. Among 2,625 healthcare personnel, workplace-related factors that may increase infection risk were more common among nursing-home personnel than hospital personnel, whereas selected factors outside the workplace were more common among hospital personnel.

Background: Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is commonly used for the treatment of noninvasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Following a report from 2 facilities of increased trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance among MRSA infections, we assessed changes in resistance nationally and by state. Methods: We reviewed antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) data for trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole among S. aureus isolates associated with surgical site infections (SSIs), central-line–associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs), and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) from acute-care hospitals reported to the NHSN Device and Procedure Module from 2012 to 2018. We compared the pooled mean percentage of isolates nonsusceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 2012 and 2018, stratified by MRSA and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Among MRSA isolates, we compared the percentage nonsusceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole by healthcare-associated infection (HAI) type and state in 2012 and 2018. States with ≥20 MRSA isolates with AST reported each year were included in the state-level analysis. Results: Overall, 36,587 MRSA isolates and 46,824 MSSA isolates were reported from 2012 to 2018. Moreover, >80% of MRSA and MSSA isolates had trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole AST reported each year. Nationally, the percentage of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole nonsusceptible among MRSA isolates was 3.9% in 2012 compared to 6.5% in 2018 ( P < .001), but it was unchanged among MSSA isolates during the same period (1.1% in 2012 vs 1.4% in 2018; P = .08). Among MRSA surgical site infections (SSIs), the proportion of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole nonsusceptible isolates was 3.1% in 2012 versus 6.1% in 2018 ( P < .001) but did not change significantly for CLABSIs or CAUTIs (Fig. 1). Among the 32 states that met the inclusion criteria, there were no significant decreases, whereas 4 (12.5%) showed significant increases in the percentage of MRSA that were trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole nonsusceptible in 2018 compared to 2012: New Jersey (2.4% in 2012 vs 19.3% in 2018; P <.001); Florida (9.1% in 2012 vs 22.4% in 2018; P < .001); Maryland (0.0% in 2012 vs 10.9% in 2018; P < .01); and Pennsylvania (1.7% in 2012 vs 6.5% in 2018; P < .001). Conclusions: Nationally, there was a modest but significant increase in the percentage of MRSA HAI isolates nonsusceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 2018 compared to 2012; however, 3 of 4 states with significant increases in nonsusceptibility had substantial, potentially clinically relevant increases (>10%). Ongoing characterization of MRSA isolates from Florida and New Jersey may provide insight into the underlying cause of these shifting patterns in trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistance among MRSA. Healthcare personnel should select appropriate antibiotic regimens based on local resistance patterns, should monitor patients for treatment failure, and should report changes in resistance to the appropriate public health department. Funding: None Disclosures: None

Abstract Background Interventions to reduce community-onset (CO) Clostridioides difficile Infection (CDI) are not usually hospital-based due to the perception that they are often acquired outside the hospital. We determined the proportion of admitted CO CDI that might be associated with previous hospitalization. Methods The CDC’s Emerging Infections Program conducts population-based CDI surveillance in 10 US sites. We defined an incident case as a C. difficile-positive stool collected in 2017 from a person aged ≥ 1 year admitted to a hospital with no positive tests in the prior 8 weeks. Cases were defined as CO if stool was collected within 3 days of hospitalization. CO cases were classified into four categories: long-term care facility (LTCF)-onset if patient was admitted from an LTCF; long-term acute care hospital (LTACH)-onset if patient was admitted from an LTACH; CO-healthcare-facility associated (CO-HCFA) if patient was admitted from a private residence but had a prior healthcare-facility admission in the past 12 weeks; or community-associated (CA) if there was no admission to a healthcare facility in the prior 12 weeks. We excluded hospitals with < 10 cases among admitted catchment-area residents. Results Of 4724 cases in 86 hospitals, 2984 (63.2%) were CO (median per hospital: 65.8%; interquartile range [IQR]: 58.3%-70.7%). Among the CO cases, 1424 (47.7%) were CA (median per hospital: 48.1%; IQR: 40.3%-57.7%), 1201 (40.3%) were CO-HCFA (median per hospital: 41.0%; IQR: 32.9%-47.8%), 350 (11.7%) were LTCF-onset (median per hospital: 10.0%; IQR: 0.6%-14.4%), and 9 (0.3%) were LTACH-onset. Of 1201 CO-HCFA cases, 1174 (97.8%) had a prior hospitalization; among these, 978 (83.3%) (median per hospital: 83.3%; IQR: 69.2%-90.6%), which consists of 32.8% of all hospitalized CO cases, had been discharged from the same hospital (Figure), and 84.4% of the 978 cases (median per hospital: 88.2%: IQR: 76.5%-100.0%) had received antibiotics sometime in the prior 12 weeks. Figure. Frequency of Cases Discharged in the 12 Weeks Prior to Readmission with Clostridioides difficile Infection (N=1138*) Conclusion A third of hospitalized CO CDI had been recently discharged from the same hospital, and most had received antibiotics during or soon after the last admission. Hospital-based and post-discharge antibiotic stewardship interventions could help reduce subsequent CDI hospitalizations. Disclosures Ghinwa Dumyati, MD, Roche Diagnostics (Consultant)

Background: In 2018, the Maryland Department of Health, in collaboration with the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, created the Statewide Prevention and Reduction of Clostridioides difficile (SPARC) collaborative to reduce C. difficile as specified in Healthy People 2020. Methods: The SPARC collaborative recruited hospitals contributing most cases to statewide C. difficile standardized infection ratio (SIR), according to data reported to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). SPARC developed intervention bundles around 4 domains: infection prevention, environmental cleaning, and diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship. Each facility completed a self-assessment followed by an on-site, day-long, peer-to-peer (P2P) evaluation with 8–12 SPARC subject matter experts (SMEs) representing each domain. The SMEs met with hospital executive leadership and then led 4 domain-based group discussions with relevant hospital team leaders. To identify policy and practice gaps, SMEs visited hospital inpatient units for informal interviews with frontline staff. In a closing session, SPARC SMEs, hospital executives, and team leaders reconvened to discuss preliminary findings. This included review of covert observation data (hand hygiene, personal protective equipment compliance, environmental cleaning) obtained by SPARC team 1–2 weeks prior. Final SPARC P2P written recommendations guided development of customized interventions at each hospital. SPARC provided continuous support (follow up phone calls, educational webinars, technical support, didactic training for antimicrobial stewardship pharmacists) to enhance facility-specific implementation. For every quarter, we categorized C. difficile NHSN data for each Maryland hospital into “SPARC” or “non-SPARC” based on participation status. Using negative binomial mixed models, we analyzed difference-in-difference of pre- and postincidence rate ratios (IRRs) for SPARC and non-SPARC hospitals, which allowed estimation of change attributable to SPARC participation independent of other time-varying factors. Results: Overall, 13 of 48 (27%) hospitals in Maryland participated in the intervention. The baseline SIR for all Maryland hospitals was 0.92, and the post-SPARC SIR was 0.67. The SPARC hospitals had a greater reduction in hospital-onset C. difficile incidence; 8.6 and 4.3 events per 10,000 patient days for baseline and most recent quarter, respectively. For non-SPARC hospitals, these hospital-onset C. difficile incidences were 5.1 preintervention and 4.3 postintervention. We found a statistically significant difference-in-difference between SPARC and non-SPARC hospital C. difficile reduction rates (ratio of IRR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.44−0.89; P = .01). Conclusions: The Maryland SPARC collaborative, a public health-academic partnership, was associated with a 25% reduction in the Maryland C. difficile SIR. Hospitals participating in SPARC demonstrated significantly reduced C. difficile incidences to match that of high-performing hospitals in Maryland.Funding: NoneDisclosure: Aaron Milstone, BD – consulting.