How urine culture ordering practices impact antimicrobial use: 3 study findings

Hospitals may be able to boost antimicrobial stewardship and reduce the number of patients who start antimicrobial therapy by changing their urine culture ordering practices, according to a study published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

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Researchers conducted the study at a 700-bed academic medical center, aggregating data from all adult patients admitted to the hospital’s intensive care units during a pre-intervention period (from January to December 2012) and a post-intervention period (from January to December 2013).

Highlighted below are three things to know about the study.

1. The intervention implemented was a new protocol limiting the number of urine cultures ordered to cases in which pyuria — which is frequently associated with bacterial infection — was detected.

2. Results of the study indicated a decrease in the number of patients starting a new antimicrobial therapy based on urine culture results after the intervention was implemented, from 41 percent to 23 percent.

3. The researchers did not observe a statically significant difference in the average total days of antimicrobial therapy among patients after the intervention.

 

 

More articles on antimicrobials:
Serving antibiotic-free meet proves difficult for some hospitals
NIH commits $5M to fund research projects on antibiotic alternatives
Naturally occurring food preservatives kill cancer, antibiotic-resistant bugs

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