For their study, researchers retrospectively assessed patients who were admitted to two hospitals for urinary tract infection or asymptomatic bacteriuria over a three-month period. Administration of antibiotics is clinically appropriate in patients with urinary tract infection but not in patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria. In total, the researchers assessed 183 episodes of asymptomatic bacteriuria and 156 episodes of urinary tract infection.
Their analysis showed healthcare providers improperly administered antibiotics to 60 of the 183 cases of asymptomatic bacteriuria. Researchers found a majority of the overtreatments were for patients with pyuria.
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