Category: Nebraska ASAP

Advancing Healthcare and Antimicrobial Stewardship in Nebraska

Content courtesy of Phil Chung and the Nebraska ASAP.  The Nebraska Antimicrobial Stewardship Assessment and Promotion Program (ASAP) is funded by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Healthcare-Associated Infection Team through a CDC grant.  It is closely affiliated with the nationally recognized Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) at Nebraska Medicine and Division of Infectious […]

Aug 23, 2017

Cephalexin with or without TMP-SMX Showed Similar Clinical Cure Rates for Uncomplicated Cellulitis

Content courtesy of Philip Chung, PharmD, MS, BCPS The Infectious Diseases Society of America recommends use of antimicrobial agent active only against streptococci (e.g., cephalexin) for management of cellulitis in patients without systemic signs of infection, penetrating trauma, evidence of MRSA, and injection drug use.  Despite this recommendation, healthcare providers frequently prescribe additional antimicrobial agents […]

Aug 18, 2017

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Long-Term Care Facilities – The Time is Now!

Antibiotic use is common in long-term care facilities (LTCF) with 70% residents receiving at least one course of systemic antibiotic every year. A significant proportion of the antibiotic use (40% to 75%) in nursing homes has been found to be unnecessary or inappropriate. The prevalence of multi-drug resistant organisms and C. difficile infections are already […]

Aug 14, 2017

Pharmacist-Driven Intervention Improves Care of Patients with Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.  Previous studies have shown Infectious Diseases (ID) consultation for patients with SAB optimizes care and reduces mortality.  A recent study highlights outcomes of a pharmacist-driven intervention to encourage adherence to SAB quality-of-care measures and ID consultation in an Ohio medical center.  The study investigators found that these interventions significantly increased compliance to SAB quality-of-care measures from […]

Aug 11, 2017