Computerized Antibiotic Stewardship Study (COMPASS)

Improvement of Antibiotic Use in Hospitals Through Pragmatic, Multifaceted, Computerized Interventions: a Multicentre, Cluster-randomized Trial - COMPASS Study (COMPuterized Antibiotic Stewardship Study)

Swiss National Science Foundation, University of Geneva, Switzerland, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Ticino, Switzerland

Prescribing antibiotics frequently poses problems in practice, since patients don't always receive the right dosage of the right antibiotic for the right period of time. This promotes the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. The investigators of this trial aim to develop a system designed to help doctors to use antibiotics more appropriately. Under COMPASS (COMPuterized Antibiotic Stewardship Study), doctors in three Swiss hospitals will receive tips on the use of antibiotics that are integrated directly into electronic health record and will also be given regular feedback on their use of antibiotics. Parallel to this, data on the antimicrobial prescription practices of a control group which is not using the system will be collected.

Inappropriate use of antimicrobials favours the spread and emergence of antimicrobial resistance and other adverse patient outcomes. Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programs aim to promote the appropriate use of antimicrobials. Most AMS interventions are based on manual, personalized peer review of antibiotic prescriptions by specialists and are therefore time and resource intensive. Informatics based, computerized approaches to AMS are a promising way to "automatize" AMS, but there have been only few randomized controlled trials analysing their effectiveness in the hospital setting. The primary research question of this study is whether a multi-modal, computerized antibiotic stewardship intervention (I) reduces overall antibiotic exposure (O) in adult patients hospitalized in acute-care wards of secondary and tertiary care centers (P) compared to no such intervention ("standard-of- care") (C) over a one year time period (T) (the letters refer to the corresponding constituents of the PICOT framework). The primary objective of the study is to use the methodological rigor of a parallel group, cluster-randomized, controlled superiority trial in three Swiss hospitals to answer the primary research question. Secondary objectives are to assess the impact of the intervention on quality of antibiotic use, patient, microbiologic and economic outcomes. The primary outcome will be the difference in overall systemic antibiotic use measured in days of therapy (DOT) per admission based on administration data recorded in the electronic health record (EHR) over the whole intervention period. Secondary outcomes will include qualitative and quantitative antimicrobial use indicators (including non-HIV antivirals and antifungals), economic outcomes and key clinical and microbiologic indicators and patient safety indicators such as changes in readmission rates, need for intensive care and mortality. The study hypothesis is that the multimodal intervention is superior to standard-of-care regarding the primary outcome, i.e. that the intervention leads to a statistically significant reduction in overall antibiotic use expressed as days of therapy per admission compared to no such intervention ("standard-of-care" antibiotic stewardship).

Masking for care providers and investigators is unfortunately not feasible. Outcome assessors and data analysts will be blinded to the study arm allocation.

suggestion of guideline concordant antimicrobial treatment based on indication entry in the computerized physician order entry system mandatory reevaluation of antimicrobial therapy therapy on calendar day 4 of treatment suggestion of standard antimicrobial treatment duration according to indication

Infectious diseases consultation "on demand" Review of positive blood cultures Availability of a antibiotic use guidelines (on paper and as PDF)

Overall days per treatment period. A treatment period is defined as antibiotic treatment not interrupted by more than one calendar day or discharge.

Proportion of patients with "de-escalation" and "escalation" of antibiotic therapy by calendar day 4 of treatment

Incidence of healthcare-facility onset Clostridium difficile infection denominated by 10 000 PD and admission

Incidence of clinical cultures with multidrug resistant organisms (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E), carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa) denominated per 1000 PD and admissions

Costs of administered antimicrobials (overall and by class) per admission and per admission receiving antibiotics

A treatment period is defined as antibiotic treatment not interrupted by more than one calendar day or discharge.

A treatment period is defined as antibiotic treatment not interrupted by more than one calendar day or discharge.

Inclusion Criteria: CLUSTER (WARD) LEVEL Acute-care wards with at least 150 admissions/year Use of a computerized physician order entry system (CPOE) PHYSICIAN LEVEL * All physicians involved in antibiotic prescribing decisions in the participating wards PATIENT LEVEL * All patients hospitalized in the participating wards Exclusion Criteria: CLUSTER (WARD) LEVEL Emergency room Outpatient clinics Overflow wards Absence of a matchable wards with regard to specialty and baseline antibiotic use Hematopoietic stem cell PHYSICIAN LEVEL * None PATIENT LEVEL * None

Catho G, De Kraker M, Waldispuhl Suter B, Valotti R, Harbarth S, Kaiser L, Elzi L, Meyer R, Bernasconi E, Huttner BD. Study protocol for a multicentre, cluster randomised, superiority trial evaluating the impact of computerised decision support, audit and feedback on antibiotic use: the COMPuterized Antibiotic Stewardship Study (COMPASS). BMJ Open. 2018 Jun 27;8(6):e022666. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-022666.

Catho G, Centemero NS, Catho H, Ranzani A, Balmelli C, Landelle C, Zanichelli V, Huttner BD; on the behalf of the Q-COMPASS study group. Factors determining the adherence to antimicrobial guidelines and the adoption of computerised decision support systems by physicians: A qualitative study in three European hospitals. Int J Med Inform. 2020 Sep;141:104233. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2020.104233. Epub 2020 Jul 13.

Catho G, Sauser J, Coray V, Da Silva S, Elzi L, Harbarth S, Kaiser L, Marti C, Meyer R, Pagnamenta F, Portela J, Prendki V, Ranzani A, Centemero NS, Stirnemann J, Valotti R, Vernaz N, Suter BW, Bernasconi E, Huttner BD; COMPASS study group. Impact of interactive computerised decision support for hospital antibiotic use (COMPASS): an open-label, cluster-randomised trial in three Swiss hospitals. Lancet Infect Dis. 2022 Oct;22(10):1493-1502. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00308-5. Epub 2022 Jul 20.

http://www.nfp72.ch/en/projects/module-3-optimised-use-of-antibiotics/using-computers-to-improve-prescription-practices