Abstract

BackgroundThe term “Cascade of Care” has been used to analyze care delivered by a health system for conditions such as HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis, and diabetes. It outlines sequential steps required to reach a specific outcome (i.e., viral suppression in the case of HIV). This allows to estimate the proportion of patients achieving each step and to identify gaps in care. Medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is integral in the treatment of patients with infective endocarditis (IE) and opioid use disorder (OUD). We propose a Cascade of Care aiming to identify fundamental milestones in the management of these patients.MethodsA retrospective cohort study examined patients with IE in the setting of OUD hospitalized between July 1, 2007 and January 1, 2015 to the Cleveland Clinic. We identified 4 key steps along the treatment cascade of these patients and estimated the proportion of patients: (1) evaluated by an addiction treatment service, (2) prescribed MAT while in-patient, (3) prescribed MAT at discharge, and (4) continued MAT at least 90 days after discharge.ResultsOf 273 patients with IE in the setting of OUD, 134 (49%) were evaluated by an addiction treatment service; 45 (17%) were prescribed MAT while in-patient; only 22 (8%) were prescribed MAT at discharge. At 90 days following discharge, there was evidence of continuing MAT for all 22 patients (8%).ConclusionDescribing the process of addiction treatment for patients with IE and OUD in the format of a cascade of care provides a powerful quantitative method to identify gaps in care and can be used as a resource to implement interventions to address losses. We found only 8% of these patients continued MAT in the community after discharge. This study provides an estimate of how compromised the potential benefits from medical and surgical treatment for IE are by the lack of an effective approach to OUD after hospital discharge. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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