The (over)treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in hospitalized patients remains pesky as reported in this JAMA Internal Medicine article. The impact: treating asymptomatic bacteriuria increases length of stay. No specific example are given in the discussion on how best to reduce overtreatment, which stems from overdiagnosis.Here is a recent publication from our group on urine test stewardship in catheterized patients. We surveyed providers and found poor understanding of urine culture guidelines for catheterized ICU patients.
Education only goes so far. An EMR-based decision support
intervention may potentially improve urine culture guideline adherence
and reduce unnecessary testing and antibiotic use. This is precisely what we
have created and set into motion. We are in the process of summarizing our data and preparing a
manuscript. The result is a mixed bag and the issue continues to vex us.
I am off to the United Kingdom tomorrow, for the 2019 Infection Prevention Society annual conference, where I have a lecture and a symposium. Looking forward to it.
Updates will be posted on my blog.
