Project Grant K08HS030118

The General Hospital Corporation (doing business as Massachusetts General Hospital) received a $294,244 Project Grant award from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under the Research on Healthcare Costs, Quality and Outcomes (CFDA 93.226) program. The award will fund a 5-year research project focused on identifying sepsis phenotypes associated with antibiotic-resistant pathogens using large language models and machine learning. The key objectives are to: 1) apply language models to clinical notes to extract data on presenting syndromes, antibiotic exposures, and healthcare exposures to improve prediction of antibiotic resistance; 2) quantify the impact of broad vs. appropriate vs. narrow antibiotic use on outcomes in culture-positive sepsis; and 3) define sepsis phenotypes where the risks of broad antibiotic coverage outweigh the benefits. The project aims to provide guidance on appropriate initial antibiotic selection for suspected sepsis patients to reduce the overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics and associated risks.