External validation study of a clinical decision aid to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in women with acute cystitis

Antibiotic prescription patterns in patients with suspected urinary tract infections in Ecuador

BACKGROUND

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are among the most common cause to prescribe antibiotics in primary care. Diagnosis is based on the presence of clinical symptoms in combination with the results of laboratory tests. Antibiotic therapy is the primary approach to the treatment of UTIs; however, some studies indicate that therapeutics in UTIs may be suboptimal, potentially leading to therapeutic failure and increased bacterial resistance.

METHODS

This study aimed to analyze the antibiotic prescription patterns in adult patients with suspected UTIs and to evaluate the appropriateness of the antibiotic prescription. This is a cross-sectional study of patients treated in outpatient centers and in a second-level hospital of the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) in a city in Ecuador during 2019. The International Classification of Disease Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used for the selection of the acute UTI cases. The patients included in this study were those treated by family, emergency, and internal medicine physicians.

RESULTS

We included a total of 507 patients in the analysis and 502 were prescribed antibiotics at first contact, constituting an immediate antibiotic prescription rate of 99.01%. Appropriate criteria for antibiotic prescription were met in 284 patients, representing an appropriate prescription rate of 56.02%. Less than 10% of patients with UTI had a urine culture. The most frequently prescribed antibiotics were alternative antibiotics (also known as second-line antibiotics), such as ciprofloxacin (50.39%) and cephalexin (23.55%). Factors associated with inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for UTIs were physician age over forty years, OR: 2.87 (95% CI, 1.65-5.12) p<0.0001, medical care by a general practitioner, OR: 1.89 (95% CI, 1.20-2.99) p = 0.006, not using point-of-care testing, OR: 1.96 (95% CI, 1.23-3.15) p = 0.005, and care at the first level of health, OR: 15.72 (95% CI, 8.57-30.88) p<0.0001.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of our study indicate an appropriate prescription rate of 56.02%. Recommended antibiotics such as nitrofurantoin and fosfomycin for UTIs are underutilized. The odds for inappropriate antibiotic prescription were 15.72 times higher at the first level of care compared to the second. Effective strategies are needed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs.

The Five Ds of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship for Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are one of the most common indications for antibiotic prescriptions in the outpatient setting. Given rising rates of antibiotic resistance among uropathogens, antibiotic stewardship is critically needed to improve outpatient antibiotic use, including in outpatient clinics (primary care and specialty clinics) and emergency departments. Outpatient clinics are in general a neglected practice area in antibiotic stewardship programs, yet most antibiotic use in the United States is in the outpatient setting. This article provides a comprehensive review of antibiotic stewardship strategies for outpatient UTI in the adult population, with a focus on the "five Ds" of stewardship for UTI, including right diagnosis, right drug, right dose, right duration, and de-escalation. Stewardship interventions that have shown success for improving prescribing for outpatient UTI are discussed, including diagnostic stewardship strategies, such as reflex urine cultures, computerized decision support systems, and modified reporting of urine culture results. Among the many challenges to achieving stewardship for UTI in the outpatient setting, some of the most important are diagnostic uncertainty, increasing antibiotic resistance, limitations of guidelines, and time constraints of stewardship personnel and front-line providers. This article presents a stewardship framework, built on current evidence and expert opinion, that clinicians can use to guide their own outpatient management of UTI.

A pragmatic randomized trial of a primary care antimicrobial stewardship intervention in Ontario, Canada

BACKGROUND

More than 90% of antibiotics are prescribed in primary care, but 50% may be unnecessary. Reducing unnecessary antibiotic overuse is needed to limit antimicrobial resistance. We conducted a pragmatic trial of a primary care provider-focused antimicrobial stewardship intervention to reduce antibiotic prescriptions in primary care.

METHODS

Primary care practitioners from six primary care clinics in Toronto, Ontario were assigned to intervention or control groups to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-faceted intervention for reducing antibiotic prescriptions to adults with respiratory and urinary tract infections. The intervention included provider education, clinical decision aids, and audit and feedback of antibiotic prescribing. The primary outcome was total antibiotic prescriptions for these infections. Secondary outcomes were delayed prescriptions, prescriptions longer than 7 days, recommended antibiotic use, and outcomes for individual infections. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate treatment effects, adjusting for clustering by clinic and baseline differences.

RESULTS

There were 1682 encounters involving 54 primary care providers from January until May 31, 2019. In intervention clinics, the odds of any antibiotic prescription was reduced 22% (adjusted Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.78; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 0.64.0.96). The odds that a delay in filling a prescription was recommended was increased (adjusted OR=2.29; 95% CI=1.37, 3.83), while prescription durations greater than 7 days were reduced (adjusted OR=0.24; 95% CI=0.13, 0.43). Recommended antibiotic use was similar in control (85.4%) and intervention clinics (91.8%, p=0.37).

CONCLUSIONS

A community-based, primary care provider-focused antimicrobial stewardship intervention was associated with a reduced likelihood of antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory and urinary infections, an increase in delayed prescriptions, and reduced prescription durations.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT03517215 ).

Prospective trial of different antimicrobial treatment durations for presumptive canine urinary tract infections

Background

Avoidance of unnecessary antimicrobial administration is a key tenet of antimicrobial stewardship; knowing the optimal duration of therapy obviates over-treatment. However, little research has been performed to establish course lengths for common canine infections. In clinical practice, antimicrobial therapy is frequently prescribed in dogs presenting lower urinary tract signs (haematuria, pollakiuria and dysuria/stranguria). The proposed length of treatment in International Consensus guidelines has decreased with each iteration, but these recommendations remain arbitrary and largely extrapolated from experience in people.

Methods

The objective of this prospective, multi-centre study is to find the shortest course duration that is non-inferior to the standard duration of 7 days of amoxicillin/clavulanate in terms of clinical outcomes for female dogs with lower urinary tract signs consistent with a urinary tract infection. An electronic data capture platform will be used by participating veterinarians working in clinical practice in the United Kingdom. Eligible dogs must be female, aged between 6 months and 10 years and have lower urinary tract signs of up to seven days’ duration. Enrolment will be offered in cases where the case clinician intends to prescribe antimicrobial therapy. Automatic pseudo-randomisation to treatment group will be based on the day of presentation (Monday-Friday); all antimicrobial courses will be completed on the Sunday after presentation generating different treatment durations. Follow-up data will be collected 1, 8 and 22–26 days after completion of the antimicrobial course to ensure effective safety netting, and to monitor short-term outcome and recurrence rates. Informed owner consent will be obtained in all cases. The study is approved by the Ethical Review Board of the University of Nottingham and has an Animal Test Certificate from the Veterinary Medicine’s Directorate.

Discussion

This study has been designed to mirror current standards of clinical management; conclusions should therefore, be widely applicable and guide practising veterinarians in their antimicrobial decision-making process. A duration-response curve will be created allowing determination of the optimal treatment duration for the management of female dogs with lower urinary tract signs. It is hoped that these results will contribute valuable information to improve future antimicrobial stewardship as part of a wider one-health perspective.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12917-021-02974-y.

Peculiarities of the regional dynamics of the prevalence and incidence of cystitis in children

In a child, cystitis (non-specific microbial inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bladder) is considered to be a dangerous disease; the prolongation of the process is usually associated with a delayed diagnosis. The aim of this work was to analyze the health status of the child population of the Chernivtsi region, especially the dynamics of the prevalence and incidence of cystitis. The official statistical data have been studied (reports on the state of medical care for children in the Chernivtsi region and data from the Center of Medical Statistics of the Ministry of Healthcare from 2006 to 2017); information-analytical and statistical methods have been used for the purpose of this study. Attention should be drawn to the significantly high prevalence of cystitis among children aged 15–17 years, especially in the Chernivtsi region as during period I (8.7±0.6 vs. 4.3±0.3 in Ukraine) and II (11.7±1.0 and 5.7±0.4, respectively, per 1000 people). Moreover, over the years, the growth of indicators acquires intensity, while this process is more than twice as pronounced in Chernivtsi. Thus, the growth rate was 65.0% in 2006–2011 and 90.3% in 2012–2017 vs. 27.2% and 32.8% in Ukraine, respectively. The identified data indicate the need to provide specialized care to children with infectious and inflammatory diseases of the urinary system of the Chernivtsi region and the need to improve regional clinical routes of patients with infectious and inflammatory diseases of the urinary system.

Development and evaluation of a primary care antimicrobial stewardship program (PC-ASP) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

BACKGROUND

Effective community-based antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs) are needed because 90% of antimicrobials are prescribed in the community. A primary care ASP (PC-ASP) was evaluated for its effectiveness in lowering antibiotic prescriptions for six common infections.

METHODS

A multi-faceted educational program was assessed using a before-and-after design in four primary care clinics from 2015 through 2017. The primary outcome was the difference between control and intervention clinics in total antibiotic prescriptions for six common infections before and after the intervention. Secondary outcomes included changes in condition-specific antibiotic use, delayed antibiotic prescriptions, prescriptions exceeding 7 days duration, use of recommended antibiotics, and emergency department visits or hospitalizations within 30 days. Multi-method models adjusting for demographics, case mix, and clustering by physician were used to estimate treatment effects.

RESULTS

Total antibiotic prescriptions in control and intervention clinics did not differ (difference in differences = 1.7%; 95% CI -12.5% to 15.9%), nor did use of delayed prescriptions (-5.2%; 95% CI -24.2% to 13.8%). Prescriptions for longer than 7 days were significantly reduced (-21.3%; 95% CI -42.5% to -0.1%). However, only 781 of 1,777 encounters (44.0%) involved providers who completed the ASP education. Where providers completed the education, delayed prescriptions increased 17.7% (p = 0.06), and prescriptions exceeding 7 days duration declined (-27%; 95% CI -48.3% to -5.6%). Subsequent emergency department visits and hospitalizations did not increase.

CONCLUSIONS

PC-ASP effectiveness on antibiotic use was variable. Shorter prescription durations and increased use of delayed prescriptions were adopted by engaged primary care providers.

Predicting the use of antibiotics after initial symptomatic treatment of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection: analyses performed after a randomised controlled trial

OBJECTIVE

To predict antibiotic use after initial treatment with ibuprofen using data from a randomised controlled trial comparing ibuprofen to pivmecillinam in the treatment of women with symptoms of an uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI).

SETTING

16 sites in a primary care setting in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

PARTICIPANTS

Data from 181 non-pregnant women aged 18-60 presenting with symptoms of uncomplicated UTI, initially treated with ibuprofen.

METHODS

Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator logistic regression model, we conducted analyses to see if baseline information could help us predict which women could be treated with ibuprofen without risking treatment failure and which women should be recommended antibiotics.

RESULTS

Of the 143 women included in the final analysis, 77 (53.8%) recovered without antibiotics and 66 (46.2 %) were subsequently prescribed antibiotics. In the unadjusted binary logistic regression, the number of days with symptoms before inclusion (<3 days) and feeling moderately unwell or worse (≥4 on a scale of 0-6) were significant predictors for subsequent antibiotic use. In the adjusted model, no predictors were significantly associated with subsequent antibiotic use. The area under the curve of the final model was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.57 to 0.74).

CONCLUSION

We did not find any baseline information that significantly predicted the use of antibiotic treatment. Identifying women who need antibiotic treatment to manage their uncomplicated UTI is still challenging. Larger data sets are needed to develop models that are more accurate.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01849926).

Barriers and facilitators to the uptake of an antimicrobial stewardship program in primary care: A qualitative study

The overuse of antimicrobials in primary care can be linked to an increased risk of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria for individual patients. Although there are promising signs of the benefits associated with Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs (ASPs) in hospitals and long-term care settings, there is limited knowledge in primary care settings and how to implement ASPs in these settings is unclear. In this context, a qualitative study was undertaken to explore the perceptions of primary care prescribers of the usefulness, feasibility, and experiences associated with the implementation of a pilot community-focused ASP intervention in three primary care clinics. Qualitative interviews were conducted with primary care clinicians, including local ASP champions, prescribers, and other primary health care team members, while they participated in an ASP initiative within one of three primary care clinics. An iterative conventional content analyses approach was used to analyze the transcribed interviews. Themes emerged around the key enablers and barriers associated with ASP implementation. Study findings point to key insights relevant to the scalability of community ASP activities with primary care providers.

Changes in Antimicrobial Resistance of Urinary Tract Infections in Adult Patients over a 5-Year Period

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to determine the most common bacteria that cause urinary tract infections (UTIs), the rate of antibiotic resistance of these uropathogens, and the changes in resistance rates over the years for adult patients diagnosed with UTIs.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed urine cultures and antibiotic susceptibility results of patients >17 years of age from our outpatient clinic between 2014 and 2018. The most common uropathogens and their antibiotic resistance rates were identified in different age groups (18-39, 40-59, and ≥60 years) and with respect to gender and date of admission. In addition, the change in antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli between 2014 and 2018 was also examined.

RESULTS

A total of 9,556 positive urine cultures were included. The most common uropathogen was E. coli, and its prevalence was higher in females than males (70.6 vs. 53.4%, respectively). The majority of isolates were from patients ≥60 years of age. E. coli resistance was most pronounced for ampicillin (61.56%), followed by trimeth-oprim-sulfamethoxazole (49.80%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (34.69%), and cefazolin (30.72%). E. coli resistance to ampicillin, nitrofurantoin, cefepime, ciprofloxacin, fosfomycin, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid increased significantly with time (all p = 0.001). For E. coli, resistance to ciprofloxacin, one of the most commonly used antibiotics for UTI, increased from 17 to 43% from 2014 to 2018.

CONCLUSION

Most of the uropathogens displayed high resistance to ampicillin, tri-methoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, and were susceptible to meropenem, ertapenem, and imipenem. Fosfomycin and cefepime were useful in the empirical treatment of community-acquired UTIs. A surprisingly high increase was observed in the resistance of E. coli to antimicrobial agents from 2014 to 2018.

Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic prescribing by dentists in England 2007-2016

The early prescribers of penicillin realised that antibiotics should be used wisely and as an adjunct to traditional surgical provision. They predicted that inappropriate use would increase sensitisation to the drug. National Health Service dentists prescribed almost 10% of antibiotics issued in NHS general practice in 2016 and an audit shows that many of these may have been prescribed inappropriately. One of the causes of antimicrobial resistance is over prescription of the drugs. This paper recalls the recommendations of some early users of penicillin, reports on the current prescription patterns of dentists in England, describes the mechanism of acquisition of anti-microbial resistance and discusses dentists' role in attempting to reduce the problem.

Pre-test probability of urinary tract infection in dogs with clinical signs of lower urinary tract disease

Clinical signs of lower urinary tract disease in dogs are characteristic but non-specific for infection. It has been hypothesized that age, sex and neuter status influences the prevalence of urinary tract infection (UTI), but the predictive value of the combined clinical presentation has not been explored in dogs. The aim of the study was to assess clinical predictors (sex/neuter status, age, dysuria/stranguria, pollakiuria, macroscopic hematuria, malodorous urine and history of recurrent UTI) for bacterial cystitis, and to develop a clinical decision rule. Data was retrieved from medical records (retrospective cases) or from standardized recording sheets (prospective cases). Bacterial cystitis was defined as significant bacteriuria on quantitative bacterial culture in dogs with compatible clinical signs of urinary tract disease. Dogs of any breed, sex and age were included. A total of 1727 microbiology records were screened and 424 samples were included in the analysis. Bacterial cystitis was confirmed in 46% of the cases. Four variables predicted bacterial cystitis: sex/neuter status, age, pollakiuria and hematuria. A score was designated to each variable and a clinical rule was constructed. This rule attained an AUC of 0.75 and had sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 55% at its optimal cut-off (score ≥2.0). A score cut-off of ≥3.0 had a positive predictive value of 70%. Several factors predicted bacterial cystitis, but the clinical rule had only modest predictive value. Other variables or point-of-care test results should be included in future research to optimize overall precision.

Knowledge and Practice Discordance in Treating Urinary Tract Infections

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common condition in women. Guidelines have been published on the diagnosis and management of such infections with the twin goals of improved patient safety and avoiding unnecessary health care costs. In this study we evaluated both physicians' knowledge of these guidelines, and whether that knowledge translates to their clinical practice.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective chart review of UTI management before and after an educational intervention in a family medicine residency. Two control sites were also included. We also assessed physicians' knowledge of current UTI management guidelines using an anonymous quiz.

RESULTS

At the intervention site, guideline adherence improved following the educational session. Inappropriate culture use decreased from 88% to 68% (P<.005) while first-line antibiotic use increased from 68% to 92% (P<.005). No such benefits were seen at the control sites. The control and intervention site providers did not differ in knowledge of antibiotic choice on the quiz (86% and 88% correct respectively, P=.85), but all control providers felt routine cultures were appropriate, whereas only 38% of the intervention providers did (P<.05).

CONCLUSIONS

A simple educational intervention made an impact on the management of UTI. Our results also highlighted that knowledge and practice are not always aligned.