The STOP-AB trial protocol: efficacy and safety of discontinuing patient antibiotic treatment when physicians no longer consider it necessary

Stop antibiotics when you feel better? Opportunities, challenges and research directions

Shortening standard antibiotic courses and stopping antibiotics when patients feel better are two ways to reduce exposure to antibiotics in the community, and decrease the risks of antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic side effects. While evidence shows that shorter antibiotic treatments are non-inferior to longer ones for infections that benefit from antibiotics, shorter courses still represent average treatment durations that might be suboptimal for some. In contrast, stopping antibiotics based on improvement or resolution of symptoms might help personalize antibiotic treatment to individual patients and help reduce unnecessary exposure. Yet, many challenges need addressing before we can consider this approach evidence-based and implement it in practice. In this viewpoint article, we set out the main evidence gaps and avenues for future research.

Microfluidic systems for infectious disease diagnostics

Microorganisms, encompassing both uni- and multicellular entities, exhibit remarkable diversity as omnipresent life forms in nature. They play a pivotal role by supplying essential components for sustaining biological processes across diverse ecosystems, including higher host organisms. The complex interactions within the human gut microbiota are crucial for metabolic functions, immune responses, and biochemical signalling, particularly through the gut-brain axis. Viruses also play important roles in biological processes, for example by increasing genetic diversity through horizontal gene transfer when replicating inside living cells. On the other hand, infection of the human body by microbiological agents may lead to severe physiological disorders and diseases. Infectious diseases pose a significant burden on global healthcare systems, characterized by substantial variations in the epidemiological landscape. Fast spreading antibiotic resistance or uncontrolled outbreaks of communicable diseases are major challenges at present. Furthermore, delivering field-proven point-of-care diagnostic tools to the most severely affected populations in low-resource settings is particularly important and challenging. New paradigms and technological approaches enabling rapid and informed disease management need to be implemented. In this respect, infectious disease diagnostics taking advantage of microfluidic systems combined with integrated biosensor-based pathogen detection offers a host of innovative and promising solutions. In this review, we aim to outline recent activities and progress in the development of microfluidic diagnostic tools. Our literature research mainly covers the last 5 years. We will follow a classification scheme based on the human body systems primarily involved at the clinical level or on specific pathogen transmission modes. Important diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria, will be addressed more extensively.

A framework for the definition and interpretation of the use of surrogate endpoints in interventional trials

Background

Interventional trials that evaluate treatment effects using surrogate endpoints have become increasingly common. This paper describes four linked empirical studies and the development of a framework for defining, interpreting and reporting surrogate endpoints in trials.

Methods

As part of developing the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) and SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials) extensions for randomised trials reporting surrogate endpoints, we undertook a scoping review, e-Delphi study, consensus meeting, and a web survey to examine current definitions and stakeholder (including clinicians, trial investigators, patients and public partners, journal editors, and health technology experts) interpretations of surrogate endpoints as primary outcome measures in trials.

Findings

Current surrogate endpoint definitional frameworks are inconsistent and unclear. Surrogate endpoints are used in trials as a substitute of the treatment effects of an intervention on the target outcome(s) of ultimate interest, events measuring how patients feel, function, or survive. Traditionally the consideration of surrogate endpoints in trials has focused on biomarkers (e.g., HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, tumour response), especially in the medical product regulatory setting. Nevertheless, the concept of surrogacy in trials is potentially broader. Intermediate outcomes that include a measure of function or symptoms (e.g., angina frequency, exercise tolerance) can also be used as substitute for target outcomes (e.g., all-cause mortality)-thereby acting as surrogate endpoints. However, we found a lack of consensus among stakeholders on accepting and interpreting intermediate outcomes in trials as surrogate endpoints or target outcomes. In our assessment, patients and health technology assessment experts appeared more likely to consider intermediate outcomes to be surrogate endpoints than clinicians and regulators.

Interpretation

There is an urgent need for better understanding and reporting on the use of surrogate endpoints, especially in the setting of interventional trials. We provide a framework for the definition of surrogate endpoints (biomarkers and intermediate outcomes) and target outcomes in trials to improve future reporting and aid stakeholders' interpretation and use of trial surrogate endpoint evidence.

Funding

SPIRIT-SURROGATE/CONSORT-SURROGATE project is Medical Research Council Better Research Better Health (MR/V038400/1) funded.

Deprescribing intervention activities mapped to guiding principles for use in general practice: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE

To identify and characterise activities for deprescribing used in general practice and to map the identified activities to pioneering principles of deprescribing.

SETTING

Primary care.

DATA SOURCES

Medline, EMBASE (Ovid), CINAHL, Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR), Clinicaltrials.gov, ISRCTN registry, OpenGrey, Annals of Family Medicine, BMC Family Practice, Family Practice and British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) from inception to the end of June 2021.

STUDY SELECTION

Included studies were original research (randomised controlled trial, quasi-experimental, cohort study, qualitative and case studies), protocol papers and protocol registrations.

DATA EXTRACTION

Screening and data extraction was completed by one reviewer; 10% of the studies were independently reviewed by a second reviewer. Coding of full-text articles in NVivo was conducted and mapped to five deprescribing principles.

RESULTS

Fifty studies were included. The most frequently used activities were identification of appropriate patients for deprescribing (76%), patient education (50%), general practitioners (GP) education (48%), and development and use of a tapering schedule (38%). Six activities did not align with the five deprescribing principles. As such, two principles (engage practice staff in education and appropriate identification of patients, and provide feedback to staff about deprescribing occurrences within the practice) were added.

CONCLUSION

Activities and guiding principles for deprescribing should be paired together to provide an accessible and comprehensive guide to deprescribing by GPs. The addition of two principles suggests that practice staff and practice management teams may play an instrumental role in sustaining deprescribing processes within clinical practice. Future research is required to determine the most of effective activities to use within each principle and by whom.

Evaluation of FASTinov® ultra-rapid flow cytometry antimicrobial susceptibility testing directly from positive blood cultures

The ultra-rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test FASTinov® flow cytometry kit was directly evaluated on positive blood cultures (BC) at two sites: i) FASTinov® in Porto (Portugal) using spiked BC with well-characterized bacteria and ii) Ramon y Cajal University hospital in Madrid (Spain) using patients positive BC. Two kits were evaluated, FASTgramneg (Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter) and FASTgrampos (Staphylococcus, Enterococcus). A dedicated software for cytometric data analysis and interpretative reporting, both using CLSI and EUCAST criteria, were used. The FASTgramneg kit also provides information about the presence of resistant mechanisms, including ESBLs and carbapenemases. After 1-h incubation at 37°C bacteria were analysed by CytoFLEX® cytometer (Beckman, CA). Disk diffusion was performed as reference susceptibility method. Overall, 447 positive BC were included, 100 from hospitalized patients. Categorical agreement for FASTgramneg panel was 96.8% for EUCAST and 96.4% for CLSI. For FASTgrampos panel it was 98.6% when using both criteria. Using EUCAST criteria the percentage of errors for FASTgramneg panel was 2.1% minor errors (mE), 1.3% major errors (ME) and 0.6% very major errors (VME). Concerning CLSI, 2.9% mE, 0.9% ME and 0.4% VME were found. VMEs were mainly observed with amoxicillin-clavulanate, cefotaxime, ceftazidime and gentamicin. FASTgrampos panel showed 0.3% mE, 1.4% ME and 0.4% VME using EUCAST criteria (VME regarded gentamicin and Staphylococcus) while 0.4% mE, 1.4% ME and no VME when using CLSI criteria. FASTinov® flow cytometry kits represent a rapid alternative for direct antimicrobial susceptibility testing from positive BC, showing time-to-results <2-h, which can be used to personalized antibiotics and stewardship practices.

Efficacy and safety of discontinuing antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated respiratory tract infections when deemed unnecessary. A multicentre, randomized clinical trial in primary care

OBJECTIVES

To determine the benefits and harms of discontinuing unnecessary antibiotic therapy for uncomplicated respiratory tract infections (RTI) when antibiotics are considered no longer necessary.

METHODS

Multicentre, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial in primary care centres from 2017 to 2020 (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02900820). Adults with RTIs-acute rhinosinusitis, sore throat, influenza or acute bronchitis-who had previously taken any dose of antibiotic for less than 3 days, which physicians no longer deemed necessary were recruited. The patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to discontinuing antibiotic therapy or the usual strategy of continuing antibiotic treatment. The primary outcome was the duration of severe symptoms (number of days scoring 5 or 6 on a six-item Likert scale). Secondary outcomes included days with symptoms, moderate symptoms (scores of 3 or 4), antibiotics taken, adverse events, patient satisfaction and complications within the first 3 months.

RESULTS

A total of 467 patients were randomized, out of which 409 were considered valid for the analysis. The mean (SD) duration of severe symptoms was 3.0 (1.5) days for the patients assigned to discontinuation and 2.8 (1.3) days for those allocated to the control group (mean difference 0.2 days; 95% CI -0.1 to 0.4 days). Patients randomized to the discontinuation group used fewer antibiotics after the baseline visit (52/207 (25.1%) versus 182/202 (90.1%); p 0.001). Patients assigned to antibiotic continuation presented a relative risk of adverse events of 1.47 (95% CI 0.80-2.71), but the need for further health-care contact in the following 3 months was slightly lower (RR 0.61; 95% CI 0.28-1.37).

CONCLUSIONS

Discontinuing antibiotic treatment for uncomplicated RTIs when clinicians consider it unnecessary is safe and notably reduces antibiotic consumption.

Predictors of antibiotic utilization among intensive care unit patients

Increased antibiotic utilization in hospital is linked to higher total treatment costs, together with increased length of stay, surgery and emergency admission. The aim of our retrospective cohort study was to investigate predictors of antibiotic utilization per single patient from an intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care, university hospital in Serbia. Average utilization of antibiotics per patient was 23.9 ± 20.4 defined daily doses (DDDs). Diagnosis of systemic infection increased antibiotics utilization per patient for 10.0 DDDs, positive blood culture for 5.4 DDDs, isolation of Pseudomonas spp. for 19.5 DDDs, isolation of Acinetobacter spp. for 6.3 DDDs and injury for 7.3 DDDs per patient. Each new day of hospitalization and each additional drug prescribed increased utilization for further 0.3 DDDs and 1.2 DDDs, respectively. Appropriate and limited use of antibiotics in ICU is of key importance for preserving their effectiveness and decrease of bacterial resistance.

Developmental roadmap for antimicrobial susceptibility testing systems

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) technologies help to accelerate the initiation of targeted antimicrobial therapy for patients with infections and could potentially extend the lifespan of current narrow-spectrum antimicrobials. Although conceptually new and rapid AST technologies have been described, including new phenotyping methods, digital imaging and genomic approaches, there is no single major, or broadly accepted, technological breakthrough that leads the field of rapid AST platform development. This might be owing to several barriers that prevent the timely development and implementation of novel and rapid AST platforms in health-care settings. In this Consensus Statement, we explore such barriers, which include the utility of new methods, the complex process of validating new technology against reference methods beyond the proof-of-concept phase, the legal and regulatory landscapes, costs, the uptake of new tools, reagent stability, optimization of target product profiles, difficulties conducting clinical trials and issues relating to quality and quality control, and present possible solutions.

This Consensus Statement presents the barriers that currently prevent the timely development and implementation of novel and rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing platforms, including the costs involved, uptake of new tools, legal and regulatory aspects, difficulties conducting clinical trials and quality control, and presents possible solutions.

Implementation of a Health-System Wide Antimicrobial Stewardship Program in Omaha, NE

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have mandated that acute care and critical access hospitals implement an Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Program. This manuscript describes the process that was implemented to ensure CMS compliance for AMS, across a 14-member health system (eight community hospitals, five critical access hospitals, and an academic medical center) in the Omaha metro area, and surrounding cities. The addition of the AMS program to the 14-member health system increased personnel, with a 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) infectious diseases (ID) physician, and 2.5 FTE infectious diseases trained clinical pharmacists to support daily AMS activities. Clinical decision support software had previously been implemented across the health system, which was also key to the success of the program. Overall, in its first year, the AMS program demonstrated a $1.2 million normalized reduction (21% total reduction in antimicrobial purchases) in antimicrobial expenses. The ability to review charts daily for antimicrobial optimization with ID pharmacist and physician support, identify facility specific needs and opportunities, and to collect available data endpoints to determine program effectiveness helped to ensure the success of the program.