Table 2.
Clinical characteristic of patients included in the analysis
| Characteristic | Pre-AST pharmacist intervention group (n = 44) | Post-AST pharmacist intervention group (n = 48) | P-value |
| Age, years (IQR) | 75.5 (65.7–85.0) | 77.0 (69.2–83.0) | 0.956 |
| Sex (female) | 25 (56.8%) | 22 (45.8%) | 0.306 |
| Height, cm (IQR) | 152.4 (147.9–162.7) | 158 (147.8–164.3) | 0.277 |
| Body weight, kg (IQR) | 46.2 (39.2–61.5) | 49.6 (43.2–55.6) | 0.320 |
| Body mass index, kg/m2 (IQR) | 19.4 (16.3–24.2) | 20.1 (16.9–22.5) | 0.984 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index (IQR) | 6 (5.0–9.7) | 6 (5.0–9.0) | 0.785 |
| Pitt Bacteremia Score (IQR) | 3 (1.0–5.0) | 2 (1.0–3.7) | 0.473 |
| ICU admission | 14 (31.8%) | 12 (25.0%) | 0.495 |
| Use of anti-Pseudomonas aeruginosa active drugs within 1 weeka,b | 16 (36.4%) | 21 (43.8%) | 0.527 |
| Surgery within 28 daysb | 7 (15.9%) | 9 (18.8%) | 0.787 |
| Artificial respirator useb | 8 (18.2%) | 8 (16.7%) | 1.000 |
| Immunosuppressive therapy within 1 monthb,c | 0 (0%) | 1 (2.1%) | 1.000 |
| Anticancer drugs within 1 monthb | 7 (15.9%) | 4 (8.3%) | 0.341 |
| Catecholamine useb | 5 (11.4%) | 8 (16.7%) | 0.556 |
| Central venous catheter (including CV port)b | 31 (70.5%) | 28 (58.3%) | 0.279 |
| Use of steroidsb | 7 (15.9%) | 3 (6.3%) | 0.185 |
| Total parenteral nutritionb | 25 (56.8%) | 24 (50.0 %) | 0.537 |
| Renal replacement therapyb | 9 (20.5%) | 5 (10.4%) | 0.247 |
| Febrile neutropeniab | 3 (6.8%) | 0 (0%) | 0.105 |
| Solid tumor | 19 (43.2%) | 17 (35.4%) | 0.523 |
| Blood tumor | 0 (0%) | 1 (2.1%) | 1.000 |
| COVID-19 | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1.000 |
| Time to positive blood culture, hour (IQR) | 41.0 (26.0–54.5) | 41.5 (30.2–58.0) | 0.487 |
| White blood cell, 103/μL (IQR) | 8.6 (6.2–13.3) | 9.0 (6.6–11.7) | 0.845 |
| Platelet, 104/μL (IQR) | 16.5 (12.0–25.4) | 18.7 (13.0–27.1) | 0.342 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/dL (IQR) | 7.2 (4.4–12.2) | 9.6 (5.4–16.5) | 0.098 |
| Serum creatinine, mg/dL (IQR) | 0.69 (0.52–1.32) | 0.89 (0.59–1.50) | 0.188 |
| eGFR, mL/min/1.73 m2 (IQR) | 65.9 (38.4–102.7) | 56.8 (31.8–88.6) | 0.279 |
| β-D-glucan, pg/mLd | 34.6 (13.7–107.9) (n=31) |
154.8 (46.3–426.6) (n=30) |
0.006 |
| Candida spp.e | |||
| C. albicans | 16 | 17 | 0.509 |
| C. glabrata | 15 | 15 | |
| C. parapsilosis | 7 | 7 | |
| C. tropicalis | 3 | 5 | |
| C. krusei | 0 | 2 | |
| C. guilliermondii | 3 | 1 | |
| Other less common species | 0 | 3 | |
| Diagnosis | |||
| Catheter-related bloodstream infection | 31 | 27 | 0.550 |
| Mediastinitis | 2 | 1 | |
| Infectious endocarditis | 1 | 2 | |
| Intra-abdominal infection | 3 | 8 | |
| Urinary tract infectionf | 4 | 6 | |
| Decubitus ulcer with infection | 0 | 2 | |
| Unknown | 3 | 4 | |
| Initial therapeutic drug | |||
| Fosfluconazole | 9 | 7 | 0.469 |
| Echinocandins | 35 | 38 | |
| Liposomal amphotericin B | 0 | 2 | |
| Itraconazole | 0 | 1 | |
AST: antimicrobial stewardship team
CV: central venous
ICU: intensive care unit
IQR: interquartile range
eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate
aCarbapenem, piperacillin, tazobactam/piperacillin, fluoroquinolone, aminoglycoside, cefepime, cefoperazone/sulbactam, cefozopran, ceftazidime
b Time point for blood culture
c Biologics, Janus kinase inhibitors, and calcineurin inhibitors
dWithin 72 hours from the time of blood culture collection
e Two species of Candida were detected in two patients in the post-AST group.
f This was defined as follows: no other suspicion of infection; bacteria detected on blood and urine cultures are consistent; presence of pyuria, urinary turbidity, or urinary tract obstruction; the attending specialist diagnoses a urinary tract infection.