702. Risk Factors for Acute Gastroenteritis Among Patients Hospitalized in 5 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, 2016–19

Background In the United States, an estimated 179 million acute gastroenteritis (AGE) episodes occur each year. Identifying factors contributing to AGE susceptibility and severity is important to address the high disease burden of AGE among adults. The primary objective of this analysis was to identify risk factors for all-cause AGE, norovirus-associated AGE and severe AGE among hospitalized adults. Methods We analyzed data from 1029 inpatient AGE cases and 624 non-AGE controls enrolled prospectively from December 1, 2016 – November 30, 2019 from 5 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (Atlanta, Bronx, Houston, Los Angeles, Palo Alto). Standardized patient interviews and medical chart abstractions were conducted to collect demographics, exposure history, and underlying medical conditions. Stool samples from participants were tested for 22 pathogens using the BioFire Gastrointestinal Panel. Severity of AGE was determined using a 20-point modified Vesikari score (MVS) and severe AGE was defined as a MVS score of ≥ 11. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to assess associations between potential risk factors and outcomes. Results Of the total AGE cases, 551 (54%) had severe AGE; 44 (4%) were norovirus positive. Risk factors for all-cause AGE vs. non-AGE controls included household contact with a person with AGE in the past 7 days (aOR=2.9, 95% CI:1.3-6.7), severe renal disease (aOR=3.1, 95% CI:1.8-5.2), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (aOR=3.9, 95% CI:1.8-8.5), and immunosuppressive therapy (aOR=5.6, 95% CI:2.7-11.7). Factors associated with norovirus positivity by univariate analysis were contact with a person with AGE outside (OR=4.4, 95% CI:1.6-12.0) and within (OR=5.0, 95% CI:2.2-11.5) the household in the past 7 days. Detection of any viral pathogen (aOR=4.0, 95% CI:1.7-9.5) was a risk factor for severe AGE. Conclusion Our findings suggest that inpatients with HIV or severe renal disease, on immunosuppressive therapy, or in contact with a person with AGE within household are at higher risk for all-cause AGE. Patients with these medical conditions should be monitored for AGE related hospitalizations and may benefit from targeted AGE prevention messaging. Disclosures Vincent Marconi, MD, Bayer (Consultant, Scientific Research Study Investigator)Eli Lilly (Consultant, Scientific Research Study Investigator)Gilead Sciences (Consultant, Scientific Research Study Investigator)ViiV (Consultant, Scientific Research Study Investigator)

112. Prescriber Perceptions on Utilization of the Antibiotic Self-Stewardship Time Out Program (SSTOP) at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC): A Strategy for Improved Antibiotic Use

Background Evidence is lacking on how to implement effective and sustainable antibiotic stewardship strategies. The Antibiotic Self-Stewardship Time Out Program (SSTOP) evaluated the implementation at VAMCs of an “Antibiotic Timeout” 3 days after the initiation of antibiotics to encourage providers to review continued use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Methods Sites launched the SSTOP note templates in a rolling fashion from June 2019-March 2020. Clinical pharmacists largely drove the implementation. The vancomycin note template was implemented at 6 of 8 sites and the antipseudomonal note template across 4 of 8 sites. Two sites were unable to launch the note templates due to lack of resources, however they utilized SSTOP principles/guided tools. From Sept 2019-Nov 2020 we conducted post-launch qualitative interviews with Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP) champions involved in implementation across the 8 VAMCs. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for thematic content. Results Feedback from ASP providers suggests prescribers had mixed reviews on the note template, but overall liked the process and deemed it to be straightforward. Many valued the algorithm, indicating it was helpful in both thinking about antibiotics prior to initiation, and identification of appropriate antibiotics. Barriers included staffing (e.g., rotating residents/turnover), surgery service, information technology (IT) support, COVID-19, and the need to remind providers to use the template. Facilitators consisted of strong stewardship, local champions (e.g., ID Fellow), medicine service, and SSTOP data feedback reports. Recommendations largely centered on improvements to the note template usability and to SSTOP feedback reports (e.g., inclusion of patient/provider-level data). Conclusion Overall, the SSTOP note templates were considered acceptable and straightforward. By guiding providers to prescribe more appropriate antibiotics, they act as influencers for practice change, and may strengthen provider/ASP relations. Plans for continued utilization of the note templates after the project concludes suggest SSTOP may serve as a way to achieve sustainable promotion of antibiotic use improvements. Disclosures Matthew B. Goetz, MD, Nothing to disclose

Adapting the Surveillance Platform for Enteric and Respiratory Infectious Organisms at United States Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (SUPERNOVA) for COVID-19 Among Hospitalized Adults: Surveillance Protocol

Introduction: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rapidly initiated COVID-19 surveillance by leveraging existing hospital networks to assess disease burden among hospitalized inpatients and inform prevention efforts.Materials and Methods: The Surveillance Platform for Enteric and Respiratory Infectious Organisms at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (SUPERNOVA) is a network of five United States Veterans Affairs Medical Centers which serves nearly 400,000 Veterans annually and conducts laboratory-based passive and active monitoring for pathogens associated with acute gastroenteritis and acute respiratory illness among hospitalized Veterans. This paper presents surveillance methods for adapting the SUPERNOVA surveillance platform to prospectively evaluate COVID-19 epidemiology during a public health emergency, including detecting, characterizing, and monitoring patients with and without COVID-19 beginning in March 2020. To allow for case-control analyses, patients with COVID-19 and patients with non-COVID-19 acute respiratory illness were included.Results: SUPERNOVA included 1,235 participants with COVID-19 and 707 participants with other acute respiratory illnesses hospitalized during February through December 2020. Most participants were male (93.1%), with a median age of 70 years, and 45.8% non-Hispanic Black and 32.6% non-Hispanic White. Among those with COVID-19, 28.2% were transferred to an intensive care unit, 9.4% received invasive mechanical ventilation, and 13.9% died. Compared with controls, after adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, COVID-19 case-patients had significantly higher risk of mortality, respiratory failure, and invasive mechanical ventilation, and longer hospital stays.Discussion: Strengths of the SUPERNOVA platform for COVID-19 surveillance include the ability to collect and integrate multiple types of data, including clinical and illness outcome information, and SARS-CoV-2 laboratory test results from respiratory and serum specimens. Analysis of data from this platform also enables formal comparisons of participants with and without COVID-19. Surveillance data collected during a public health emergency from this key U.S. population of Veterans will be useful for epidemiologic investigations of COVID-19 spectrum of disease, underlying medical conditions, virus variants, and vaccine effectiveness, according to public health priorities and needs.

Trends in beta-hemolytic Streptococcus infections within Veterans’ Affairs medical centers from 2009 to 2018

Objective: The purpose of this study was to describe the recent trends of invasive and noninvasive β-hemolytic Streptococcus cultures in the Veterans’ Affairs (VA) cohort from 2009 to 2018. Design: Retrospective cohort study from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2019. Setting: Veterans’ Affairs medical centers. Patients or participants: All patients aged 18 years and older with cultures positive for β-hemolytic Streptococcus at a VA facility were included in the study. Intervention(s): Data were retrieved from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse using structure query language through the SQL Server Management Studio software. Results: Between 2009 and 2018, there were 40,625 patients with cultures with β-hemolytic Streptococcus. The median age was 64 years (interquartile range [IQR], 55–71) and the median Charlson comorbidity index was 4 (IQR, 2–7). Distributions for each type of β-hemolytic Streptococcus based on site of culture are provided. The 30-day all-cause mortality rate from all invasive β-hemolytic Streptococcus cases was 2.3%, and the 90-day all-cause mortality rate was 4.4%. The 30- and 90-day all-cause mortality rates for Streptococcus cases were higher for group A (3.9% and 6.1% respectively) and for groups C and G combined (3.2% and 6.1%, respectively) than for group B (2.0% and 4.0%, respectively). Conclusions: Trends of cultures for invasive and noninvasive β-hemolytic Streptococcus suggest an association with disease and mortality. The burden associated with β-hemolytic Streptococcus infections should not be underestimated.

Implementation of an Antibiotic Timeout at Veterans’ Affairs Medical Centers (VAMC): COVID-19 Facilitators and Barriers

Effective stewardship strategies such as an “antibiotic timeout” to encourage prescriber reflection on the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics are critical to reduce the threat of multidrug-resistant organisms. We sought to understand the facilitators and barriers of the implementation of the Antibiotic Self-Stewardship Timeout Program (SSTOP), which used a template note integrated into the electronic health record system to guide decision making regarding anti- methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) therapy after 3 days of hospitalization. We conducted interviews at 10 Veterans’ Affairs medical centers (VAMCs) during the preimplementation period (N = 16 antibiotic stewards) and postimplementation (N = 13 antibiotic stewards) ~12 months after program initiation. Preimplementation interviews focused on current stewardship programs, whereas postimplementation interviews addressed the implementation process and corresponding challenges. We also directly asked about the impact of COVID-19 on stewardship activities at each facility. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using consensus-based inductive and deductive coding. Codes were iteratively combined into barrier and facilitator groupings. Barriers identified in the preimplementation interviews included challenges with staffing, the difficulties of changing prescribing culture, and academic affiliates (eg, rotating physician trainees). Facilitators included intellectual support (eg, providers who understand the concept of stewardship), facility support, individual strengths of antibiotic stewards (eg, diplomacy, strong relationships with surgeons), and resources such as VA policies mandating stewardship. By the postimplementation phase, all sites reported a high volume of COVID-19 cases. Additional demands were placed on infectious disease providers who comprise the antibiotic stewardship teams, which complicated the implementation of SSTOP. Many barriers and facilitators mentioned were similar to those identified during preimplementation interviews. Staffing problems and specific providers not “getting it [stewardship activities]” continued, whereas facilitators centered around strong institutional support. Specific pandemic-related barriers included slow down or stoppage of stewardship activities including curbing of regular MRSA screening practices, halting weekly stewardship rounds, and delaying stewardship committee planning. Pandemic-specific staffing problems occurred due to the need for “all hands on deck” and challenges with staff working from home, as well as being pulled in multiple directions, (eg, writing COVID-19 policies). Furthermore, an increase in antibiotic use was also reported at sites during COVID-19 surges. Our findings indicate that SSTOP implementation met with barriers at most times; however, pandemic-specific barriers were particularly powerful. Sites with strong staffing resources were better equipped to deal with these challenges. Understanding how the program evolves with subsequent COVID-19 surges will be important to support the broad implementation of SSTOP.Funding: NoDisclosures: None

Diabetes and Prostate Cancer Outcomes in Obese and Nonobese Men After Radical Prostatectomy

Background The link between diabetes and prostate cancer progression is poorly understood and complicated by obesity. We investigated associations between diabetes and prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM), castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and metastases in obese and nonobese men undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP). Methods We included 4,688 men from SEARCH, a cohort of men undergoing RP from 1988 to 2017. Diabetes prior to RP, anthropometric and clinical data were abstracted from six Veterans Affairs Medical Centers electronic medical records. Primary and secondary outcomes were PCSM and metastases and CRPC, respectively. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (adj-HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for diabetes and PCSM, CRPC and metastases. Adj-HRs were also estimated in analyses stratified by obesity (BMI: nonobese <30 kg/m2; obese ≥30 kg/m2. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results Diabetes was not associated with PCSM (adj-HR=1.38; 95% CI = 0.86-2.24), CRPC (adj-HR=1.05; 95% CI = 0.67-1.64), or metastases (adj-HR=1.01; 95% CI = 0.70-1.46), among all men. Interaction terms for diabetes and obesity were statistically significant in multivariable models for PCSM, CRPC and metastases (P≤0.04). In stratified analyses, in obese men, diabetes was associated with PCSM (adj-HR=3.06; 95%CI = 1.40-6.69), CRPC (adj-HR=2.14; 95%CI = 1.11-4.15), and metastases (adj-HR=1.57; 95%CI = 0.88-2.78), though not statistically significant for metastases. In nonobese men, inverse associations were suggested for diabetes and prostate cancer outcomes without reaching statistical significance. Conclusions Diabetes was associated with increased risks of prostate cancer progression and mortality among obese, but not among nonobese men, highlighting the importance of aggressively curtailing the increasing prevalence of obesity in prostate cancer survivors.