Providers Often Overtreat Enterococcal Bacteria With Antibiotics

Healthcare providers often overtreat patients with enterococcal asymptomatic bacteriuria with antibiotics, according to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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.

Related Articles on Antibiotic Administration:

CDC to Launch Electronic Antibiotic Tracking System

IHI/CDC's Driver Diagram and Change Package Designed to Reduce Inappropriate Antibiotic Administration

Raman Spectroscopy Enabled Researchers to Distinguish Infections, Antibiotic Resistance

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