Project Title: Antimicrobial Stewardship Education at BC Womens
Principal Investigator: Dr Chelsea Elwood
Primary Contact: Chelsea Elwood, B.M.ScH, M.Sc, MD, FRCSC, Reproductive Infectious Diseases Specialist, Medical Lead Antimicrobial Stewardship, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia Chelsea.Elwood@cw.bc.ca
About the Study: The term antimicrobial stewardship was first described as the appropriate use of antibiotics that could help prevent or revert antimicrobial resistance patterns. This includes selecting an appropriate antibiotic, at an optimal dose and duration to eliminate infection while also minimizing toxicity and resistance. Education is a key facet of any antimicrobial stewardship program. OBGYN residents at BC Women’s Hospital currently engage in a specific curriculum focusing on antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) teaching in the form of academic half days, journal club, lecture, and AMS handshake teaching rounds. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of this education program on improving residents AMS knowledge by administering a quiz at 3 time points: before, halfway through, and after 8 months of education. These data may be used to inform changes in the curriculum for future improvement.
Study Status: In preparation
Who can participate: UBC OBGYN Residents at BC Women's Hospital
Project Title: Prospective Cohort Study of Penicillin Allergy De-Labelling in Pregnancy
Principal Investigator: Dr Chelsea Elwood
Primary Contact: Chelsea Elwood, B.M.ScH, M.Sc, MD, FRCSC, Reproductive Infectious Diseases Specialist, Medical Lead Antimicrobial Stewardship, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of British Columbia
Chelsea.Elwood@cw.bc.ca
About the Study: Penicillin allergy is a common drug allergy diagnosis, yet studies have shown that 90% of those labelled with a Penicillin allergy have negative testing when assessed and/or tested by an Allergist. Almost all of this data comes from adult nonpregnant patients. This study will prospectively enroll women who are undergoing Penicillin allergy de-labelling at the newly created Penicillin Allergy Clinic at BCWH.
Supporting Documents: Clinic Flow Diagram and Clinical Algorithm for stratifying patients on allergy risk
Study Status: Recruitment is now complete! Data analysis and knowledge translation are ongoing.
Who can participate: The new penicillin allergy de-labelling clinic will be available for all women registered to deliver at BCWH. Any health care provider with privileges at BC Women’s Hospital can refer their patient to the penicillin de-labelling clinic. The referral form can be located and downloaded from the BCWH website.
Co-Investigators: Dr. Elisabeth McClymont, Dr. Julie van Schalkwyk, Dr. Arianne Albert, Dr. Raymond Mak, Dr. Vanessa Paquette, Dr. Ashley Roberts
Saravanabavan, S., Aulakh, A., Douglas, J., Elwood C., Erdle, S., Grant, J., Kang, K.T., Kwan, N., Lacaria, K., Lau, T.T.Y., Lee, C., Leung, V., Lin, Y-C., Mah, A., Nguyen, A., Paquette, V., Roberts, A., Watt, M., Van Schalkwyk, J., Zhang, B.Y., Mak, R., Wong, T. Penicillin de-labelling in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: comparison of approaches, outcomes and future directions. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol 19, 30 (2023). doi: 10.1186/s13223-023-00777-4
Zhang BY, Paquette V, McClymont E, Barlas A, Wong T, Watt M, Mak R, Elwood C. Implementing a Penicillin Allergy De-Labelling Service for the Obstetric Population. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021 Feb 2:S2213-2198(21)00151-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.01.023. Epub ahead of print.
Elwood C, Money D. (2017). Underlying maternal infection likely cause of study findings. CMAJ. 189(27): E918.
van Schalkwyk, J., Wong, F., Prestley, N., Dhillon, S., Albert, A., Collet, J., Thomas, E., Dewar, K., Hippman, C., Shaw, D., Giesbrecht, E., Money, D. Improving post-discharge surveillance of surgical site infection following cesarean section.American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2015. 213(6). p896-897.