ArticleInfectious diseases and therapy2023
A Needs Assessment for Infectious Diseases Consultation in Community Hospitals.
Article in Infectious diseases and therapy, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Tailoring clinical decision support for rural hospitals: A qualitative pilot study of accessing infectious disease expertise for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.American journal of infection control · 2026Article
- A Retrospective, Descriptive Analysis of MRSA Infections in a Low-Endemicity Region, Focusing on Empiric Treatment Adequacy.Infection and drug resistance · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionInfectious diseases (ID) consultations have been demonstrated to improve patient outcomes in the treatment of severe infections. However, ID consultation is often unavailable to patients that live in rural communities. Little is known regarding the treatment of infections in rural hospitals with no coverage from an ID specialist. We characterized the outcomes of patients cared for in hospitals without coverage from an ID physician.
methodsPatients aged 18 years or older admitted to eight community hospitals without access to ID consultation during a 6.5-month period were assessed. All patients had received at least three days of continuous antimicrobial therapy. The primary outcome was the need for transfer to a tertiary facility for ID services. The secondary outcome was the characterization of antimicrobials received. Antimicrobial courses were evaluated independently by two board-certified ID physicians.
results3706 encounters were evaluated. Transfers for ID consultation occurred in 0.01% of patients. The ID physician would have made modifications in 68.5% of patients. Areas for improvement included treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations, broad-spectrum treatment of skin and soft tissue infection, long courses of azithromycin, and management of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia, including choice and length of therapy, as well as obtaining echocardiography. Patients evaluated received 22,807 days of antimicrobial therapy.
conclusionsPatients hospitalized in community hospitals are rarely transferred for ID consultation. Our work demonstrates a need for ID consultation in community hospitals, identifying opportunities to enhance patient care by modifying antimicrobial regimens to improve antimicrobial stewardship and avoid inappropriate antimicrobials. Efforts to expand the ID workforce to include coverage at rural hospitals will likely improve antibiotic utilization.
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Registered trials
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