Measure Description
Percentage of patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of acute bacterial sinusitis that were prescribed amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, as a first line antibiotic at the time of diagnosis.
Instructions
This measure may be submitted based on the actions of the submitting Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) eligible clinician who performs the quality action, described in the measure, based on services provided within measurespecific denominator coding. This measure is to be submitted a minimum of once per performance period for patients with acute bacterial sinusitis during the performance period.
NOTE: Patient encounters for this measure conducted via telehealth (including but not limited to encounters coded with GQ, GT, 95, POS 02, POS 10) are allowable.
Measure Submission Type:
Measure data may be submitted by individual MIPS eligible clinicians, groups, or third-party intermediaries. The listed denominator criteria are used to identify the intended patient population. The numerator options included in this specification are used to submit the quality actions as allowed by the measure. The quality data codes listed do not need to be submitted by MIPS eligible clinicians, groups, or third-party intermediaries that utilize this modality for submissions; however, these codes may be submitted for those third-party intermediaries that utilize Medicare Part B claims data. For more information regarding Application Programming Interface (API), please refer to the Quality Payment Program (QPP) website.
Denominator
All patients aged 18 years and older with a diagnosis of acute bacterial sinusitis who are prescribed an antibiotic
Definition:
Acute Bacterial Rhinosinusitis (ABRS) - Acute rhinosinusitis that is caused by, or is presumed to be caused by, bacterial infection. A clinician should diagnose ABRS when: (a) symptoms or signs of acute rhinosinusitis are present 10 days or more beyond the onset of upper respiratory symptoms, or (b) symptoms or signs of acute rhinosinusitis worsen within 10 days after an initial improvement (double worsening).
Denominator Criteria (Eligible Cases):
Patients aged ≥ 18 years on date of encounter
AND
Diagnosis for acute sinusitis (ICD-10-CM): J01.00, J01.01, J01.10, J01.11, J01.20, J01.21, J01.30, J01.31, J01.40, J01.41, J01.80, J01.81, J01.90, J01.91
AND
Diagnosis for bacterial and infectious agents (ICD-10-CM): B95.0, B95.1, B95.2, B95.3, B95.4, B95.5, B95.61, B95.62, B95.7, B95.8, B96.0, B96.1, B96.20, B96.21, B96.22, B96.23, B96.29, B96.3, B96.4, B96.5, B96.6, B96.7, B96.81, B96.82, B96.83, B96.89
OR
Sinusitis caused by, or presumed to be caused by, bacterial infection: G9364
AND
Patient encounter during performance period (CPT): 99202, 99203, 99204, 99205, 99212, 99213, 99214, 99215, 99281, 99282, 99283, 99284, 99285, 99304, 99305, 99306, 99307, 99308, 99309, 99310, 99341, 99342, 99344, 99345, 99347, 99348, 99349, 99350, 99424, 99491
AND
Antibiotic regimen prescribed: G9498
Numerator
Patients who were prescribed amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, as a first line antibiotic at the time of diagnosis
Numerator Options:
Performance Met: Amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, prescribed asa first line antibiotic at the time of diagnosis (G9315)
OR
Denominator Exception: Amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, not prescribed as first line antibiotic at the time of diagnosis for documented reason (G9313)
OR
Performance Not Met: Amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, not prescribed as first line antibiotic at the time of diagnosis, reason not given (G9314)
Rationale
The rationale for antibiotic therapy of ABRS is to eradicate bacterial infection from the sinuses, hasten resolution of symptoms, and enhance disease-specific quality of life. Antibiotic therapy should be efficacious, cost-effective, and result in minimal side effects.
The justification for amoxicillin as first-line therapy for most patients with ABRS relates to its safety, efficacy, low cost, and narrow microbiologic spectrum. Consideration to prescribing amoxicillin-clavulanate for adults with ABRS is given to those at a high risk of being infected by an organism resistant to amoxicillin. Factors that would prompt clinicians to consider prescribing amoxicillin-clavulanate instead of amoxicillin include:
- Situations in which bacterial resistance is likely (e.g., antibiotic use in the past month; close contact with treated individuals, health care providers, or a health care environment; failure of prior antibiotic therapy; breakthrough infection despite prophylaxis; close contact with a child in a daycare facility; smoker or smoker in the family; high prevalence of resistant bacteria in community)
- Presence of moderate to severe infection (e.g., moderate to severe symptoms of ABRS; protracted symptoms of ABRS; frontal or sphenoidal sinusitis, history of recurrent ABRS)
- Presence of comorbidity or extremes of life (e.g., comorbid conditions including diabetes; chronic cardiac, hepatic, or renal disease; immunocompromised patient; age greater than 65 years)
The use of high-dose amoxicillin with clavulanate is recommended for adults with ABRS who are at a high risk of being infected with an amoxicillin-resistant organism. High-dose amoxicillin is preferred over standard-dose amoxicillin primarily to cover penicillin non susceptible (PNS) S. pneumoniae. This risk exists in those from geographic regions with high endemic rates (>10%) of invasive PNS S. pneumoniae, those with severe infection (e.g., evidence of systemic toxicity with fever of 39C (102F) or higher, and threat of suppurative complications), age >65 years, recent hospitalization, antibiotic use within the past month, or those who are immunocompromised.
Clinical Recommendation Statements
The following evidence statements are extracted from the referenced clinical guidelines:
AAO-HNS Sinusitis Guideline (2015)
If a decision is made to treat ABRS with an antibiotic agent, the clinician should prescribe amoxicillin with or without clavulanate as first-line therapy for most adults.
Recommendation based on randomized controlled trials with heterogeneity and non-inferiority design with a preponderance of benefit over harm.
The purpose of this statement is to promote prescribing of antibiotics with known efficacy and safety for ABRS and to reduce prescribing of antibiotics with potentially inferior efficacy because of more limited coverage of the usual pathogens that cause ABRS in adults. A secondary goal is to promote cost-effective antibiotic therapy for ABRS. A quality improvement opportunity addressed by this guideline key action statement is discouraging initial prescribing of antibiotics other than amoxicillin, with or without clavulanate, that may have low efficacy or have comparable efficacy but more adverse events.
IDSA Clinical Practice Guideline for Acute Bacterial Rhinosinusitis in Children and Adults (2012)
Amoxicillin-clavulanate rather than amoxicillin alone is recommended as empiric antimicrobial therapy for ABRS in adults (weak, low).
Evidence for at least 1 critical outcome from observational studies, from RCTs with serious flaws or indirect evidence.