173. Antimicrobial Stewardship Education Changes Prescribing Behavior and Reduces Treatment of Asymptomatic Bacteriuria

Background Treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) outside of pregnancy and urological procedures increases the risk of antibiotic resistance without improving outcomes. At Olive View-UCLA Medical Center (Sylmar, CA), the CDC U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week (AAW) was utilized as a platform to promote antimicrobial stewardship (AS) for ASB. We evaluated the incidence of antibiotic treatment of ASB pre-AAW vs post-AAW, and the impact of AS education on future prescribing practices for ASB. Methods In this single-center retrospective observational study, AS education defining ASB vs urinary tract infection (UTI) was provided via visual aids distributed throughout the hospital during AAW from 11/18/2020 to 11/24/2020 (Figure 1). All positive urine cultures (Ucx) for adult inpatients were reviewed prior to AAW from 9/2020 to 11/2020 and after AAW from 12/2020 to 1/2021. Patients were excluded if they were unable to report UTI symptoms, pregnant, or undergoing urological procedure. The incidence of ASB treatment pre- and post-AAW was compared. A survey was sent to providers to compare the impact on antibiotic prescribing behavior for ASB pre- and post-AAW. Fisher’s exact and Chi-squared tests were used for statistical analysis. Figure 1. Antimicrobial Stewardship Education and Poster DistributionResults A total of 260 cases met study eligibility. In the pre-AAW group, 56 of 131 cases presented with ASB, of which 16 were treated with antibiotics (28.6%). In the post-AAW group, 55 of 129 cases presented with ASB, and 5 were treated with antibiotics (9.1%). Antibiotics were prescribed more often for patients with ASB in the pre-AAW group compared to those in the post-AAW group (p=0.014). Forty providers completed the survey, of which 97.5% had seen the visual aids, 70% had found the education "very” or “extremely" useful, and 43.6% reported they “always or sometimes” treated ASB pre-AAW vs 15% post-AAW (p< 0.01). Conclusion AS posters and education defining ASB significantly decreased the treatment of ASB. AAW education on ASB antimicrobial stewardship demonstrated a high value and shifted prescribing behavior to avoid antibiotic treatment of ASB. A similar approach to deliver provider education could serve as a valuable model to change provider AS practices for ASB. Disclosures All Authors : No reported disclosures