Holding firm: Use of clinical correlation to improve Clostridioides difficile testing

Jonathan Baghdadi; David A Ganz; Maryanne Chumpia; Evelyn T Chang; Shelly S de Peralta

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2019.11.016

Holding firm: Use of clinical correlation to improve Clostridioides difficile testing

Am J Infect Control. 2020 Sep;48(9):1104-1107. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.11.016. Epub 2019 Dec 18.

Authors

Jonathan Baghdadi¹, David A Ganz², Maryanne Chumpia³, Evelyn T Chang⁴, Shelly S de Peralta⁵

Affiliations

¹ VA Quality Scholars Program, VHA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA; Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Electronic address: jbaghdadi@som.umaryland.edu.
² VA Quality Scholars Program, VHA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA.
³ VA Quality Scholars Program, VHA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA; Pediatrics, UCLA-Harbor Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ VHA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Center for the Study of Healthcare Innovation, Implementation and Policy (CSHIIP), Los Angeles, CA; VHA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Division of General Internal Medicine, Los Angeles, CA; University of California at Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Los Angeles, CA.
⁵ VA Quality Scholars Program, VHA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA; Cardiology, VA Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

PMID: 31862165
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.11.016

Abstract

A project involving 3 Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles was undertaken to improve testing for Clostridioides difficile at a Veterans Administration medical center. The Plan-Do-Study-Act process facilitated stakeholder engagement and allowed each successive intervention to build on the prior, resulting in a decline in the rate of hospital-onset C difficile infection.

Keywords: Clinical decision support; Diagnostic stewardship; Quality improvement; Stakeholder engagement.

Published by Elsevier Inc.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Clostridioides
Clostridioides difficile*
Clostridium Infections* / diagnosis
Cross Infection* / diagnosis
Cross Infection* / prevention & control
Hospitals
Humans