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CompletedNCT04328090EPICUpdated Mar 9, 2022

Evaluation of the Potential Impact of Computerized Antimicrobial Stewardship

An interventional study of Computer based Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) intervention system in Antimicrobial Stewardship, Cardiovascular Surgeries and Computerized Decision Support System, sponsored by China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2022-03-09.

Sponsored by China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases · Not applicable, Interventional, and Health services research

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
2,473
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This trial is an open-label, two-arm, cluster-randomized, controlled trial with cardiovascular surgical teams as the unit of randomization. Eligible teams with written consent are randomized to the intervention or control arm by random number generator. Computer-based, multicomponent intervention targeting on reduction of perioperative antimicrobial use will be delivered to teams in the intervention arm. Teams in the control arm will continue with usual clinical care.

Read the detailed description

The aim of the EPIC trial is to assess if a multicomponent computer-based system incorporated into the workflow can reduce days of therapy (DOT) per admission after cardiovascular surgeries in the intervention surgical teams compared with controlled surgical teams, over a one-year period. This trial is an open-label, two-arm, cluster-randomized, controlled trial with cardiovascular surgical teams as the unit of randomization. Eligible teams with written consent are randomized to the intervention or control arm by random number generator. Computer-based, multicomponent intervention targeting on reduction of perioperative antimicrobial use will be delivered to teams in the intervention arm. Teams in the control arm will continue with usual clinical care. The intervention includes re-evaluation alerts and decision support for the duration of antimicrobial treatment, re-evaluation alerts and decision support for the choice of antimicrobial, and quality control audit and feedback. Nine teams per arm with an average size of 1125 admissions will be recruited. Primary outcome will be the overall systemic antibiotic use measured in DOT of systemic antibiotic use per admission. Secondary outcomes include a series of indices to evaluate antimicrobial use, microbial resistance, perioperative infection outcomes, patient safety, resource consumption and user compliance/satisfaction.

02

Conditions studied

  • Antimicrobial Stewardship
  • Cardiovascular Surgeries
  • Computerized Decision Support System
  • Coronary Artery Disease
  • Valve Heart Disease
03

In context

Coronary Artery Disease

5,598 studies on the registry are indexed under Coronary Artery Disease; 957 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 2,473 is above the median of 124 across 3,436 interventional studies indexed under Coronary Artery Disease.

Browse Coronary Artery Disease studies →

Lead sponsor

China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases is the lead sponsor of 256 studies on the registry; 134 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Over 18 years of age;
  2. Receiving at least one open-chest cardiovascular surgery during the same admission.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Intravenous or oral antimicrobial use within two weeks before surgery;
  2. Emergent/urgent surgery;
  3. Admitted for isolated stenting or heart transplantation or implantation of ventricular assist device or implantation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation;
  4. Admitted for subacute bacterial endocarditis;
  5. Length of ICU stay over 48 hours.
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
2,473 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    CDSS-Antimicrobial stewardship

    Computer-based, multicomponent intervention targeting on reduction of perioperative antimicrobial use will be delivered to teams in the intervention arm.

    Other: Computer based Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) intervention system

  • No intervention
    Standard of care

    Teams in the control arm will continue with usual standard clinical care.

Interventions

  • OtherComputer based Antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) intervention system

    1. Re-evaluation alerts and decision support for the duration of antimicrobial treatment. 2. Re-evaluation alerts and decision support for the choice of antimicrobial. 3. Quality control audit and feedback.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Days of antimicrobial therapy (DOT) per admission

    DOT represents a specific antibiotic administered to an individual patient on a calendar day independent of dose and route.

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 3 months.

  2. DOT per 1000 patient-days (PD)

    DOT per 1000 patient-days

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Drug usage (DDDs) per 100 PD

    Items issued × Amount of drug per item per 100 PD

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  2. Drug usage (DDDs) per admission

    Items issued × Amount of drug per item per admission

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  3. Length of therapy (LOT) per 100 PD

    Number of days during which antimicrobial is used per 100 PD

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  4. Length of therapy (LOT) per admission

    Number of days during which antimicrobial is used per admission

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  5. Days per treatment period overall and for specific indications

    treatment period: antibiotic treatment not interrupted by more than one calendar day or discharge.

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  6. Rate of participants with clostridium difficile colitis

    Colitis associated with Clostridium difficile infection

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  7. Incident clinical cultures with multidrug resistant organisms (MRSA, ESBL-E, CRE, VRE, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa) per 1000 PD and admission.

    MRSA=methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; ESBL-E=extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae; CRE=Carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae; VRE=vancomycin-resistant enterococci.

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  8. In-hospital or 30-day surgical site infections (SSIs)

    Occurs within 30 days postoperatively and involves skin or subcutaneous tissue of the incision and at least one of the following: (1) purulent drainage from the incision, (2) organisms isolated from an aseptically obtained culture of fluid or tissue from the incision, (3) at least one of the following signs or symptoms of infection: pain or tenderness, localized swelling, redness, or heat, and incision is deliberately opened by surgeon and is culture-positive or not cultured (a culture-negative finding does not meet this criterion), and (4) diagnosis of SSI by the surgeon or attending physician.

    Time frame: 30 days from accomplished of the surgery.

  9. Rate of in-hospital bloodstream infections

    Blood stream infection after surgery (ICD 10: A41.9)

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  10. Rate of in-hospital pneumonia

    Pulmonary infection after surgery (ICD 10:J98.402)

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  11. In-hospital or 30-day mortality, postoperative

    mortality with in 30-day after the surgery

    Time frame: 30 days from accomplished of the surgery or within hospital.

  12. In-hospital or 30-day myocardial infarction (MI), postoperative and newly onset

    MI (in accordance with the fourth edition of MI definition) was termed type 5 MI, procedure related MI. Briefly, the criteria are as follows: 1. Elevation of cardiac troponin (cTn)\>10 times of the 9th percentile upper reference limit with patients with normal baseline; 2. For patients with elevated preprocedural cTn values, elevation of cTn\>10 fold increase and manifest a change from the baseline value of over 20%; 3. With as least one of the following: 4. Development of new pathological Q waves; 5. Imaging evidence of loss of viable myocardium that is presumed to be new and in a pattern consistent with an ischemic aetiology; 6. Angiographic findings consistent with a procedural flow-limiting complication.

    Time frame: 30 days from accomplished of the surgery or within hospital.

  13. In-hospital or 30-day stroke, postoperative and newly onset

    Stroke refers to newly onset stroke after surgery (ICD 10: I60.0-I60.9; I61.0-I61.9; I62.0; I62.1; I62.9; I63.0-I63.9; I64)

    Time frame: 30 days from accomplished of the surgery or within hospital

  14. In-hospital or 30-day acute kidney injury (AKI) , postoperative and newly onset

    AKI refers to newly onset AKI after surgery 1. Acute renal dysfunction within 48 hours (ICD 10: N17); 2. AKI stage I: creatinine≥26.5µmol/L; creatinine over 1.5-1.9 times of baseline value; urine output\<0.5ml/kg/hour for 6-12

    Time frame: 30 days from accomplished of the surgery or within hospital

  15. Length of hospital stay (LOS)

    Length of hospital stay (LOS)

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  16. Costs of administered antimicrobials (overall and by class) per admission

    Costs of administered antimicrobials (overall and by class) per admission

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  17. Total costs of hospitalization

    Total costs of hospitalization

    Time frame: From the date of admission to the date of discharge, assessed up to 60 days.

  18. User satisfaction with the system

    Using questionnaire and an interview guide for the process evaluation of the intervention system.

    Time frame: From the date of inclusion of the first patient to the date of discharge of the last patient, assessed up to 12 months.

  19. User compliance with the system

    Ccompliance with the multicomponent intervention protocols will be assessed. This will be done by evaluating the total number of times the intervention tools fail to change the physicians' decision on antimicrobial prescription over the intervention period.

    Time frame: From the date of inclusion of the first patient to the date of discharge of the last patient, assessed up to 12 months.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Fuwai Hospital
    Beijing, Beijing 100037, China
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Yuan X, Chen K, Zhao W, Hu S, Yu F, Diao X, Chen X, Hu S. Open-label, single-centre, cluster-randomised controlled trial to Evaluate the Potential Impact of Computerisedantimicrobial stewardship (EPIC) on the antimicrobial use after cardiovascular surgeries: EPIC trial study original protocol. BMJ Open. 2020 Nov 26;10(11):e039717. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039717. PubMed 33243799 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 9, 2022, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT04328090
Lead sponsor
China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases
Responsible party
Shengshou Hu (Professor, China National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 31, 2020
Start date
Nov 27, 2020
Primary completion
May 30, 2021
Completion
Jun 30, 2021
Last update
Mar 9, 2022

Study contacts

Shengshou Hu, MD
principal investigator · Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Fuwai Hospital
Xin Yuan, PhD
study chair · Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Fuwai Hospital
Kai Chen, PhD
study director · Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Fuwai Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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