Diagnostic accuracy of urine biomarkers for urinary tract infection in older women: a case-control study

OBJECTIVES

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common among older women. However, diagnosis is challenging because of frequent chronic lower urinary tract symptoms, cognitive impairment, and a high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB). Current urine diagnostics lack specificity, leading to unnecessary treatment and antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 12 urine biomarkers for diagnosing UTI in older women.

METHODS

In this case-control study, cases were women ≥65 years with ≥2 new-onset lower urinary tract symptoms, pyuria, and one uropathogen ≥104 CFU/mL. Controls were asymptomatic and classified as ASB (one uropathogen ≥105 CFU/mL), negative culture, or mixed flora. Urine biomarker concentrations were measured through liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and ELISA. Diagnostic accuracy parameters of individual biomarkers and a biomarker model were derived from receiver operating characteristic curves.

RESULTS

We included 162 community-dwelling and institutionalized older women. Five urine inflammatory biomarkers demonstrated high discriminative ability (area under the curve ≥0.80): interleukin 6, azurocidin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2, and C-X-C motif chemokine 9. Azurocidin exhibited the highest diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity 86% [95% CI 75%-93%] and specificity 89% [95% CI 82%-94%] at 16.7 ng/mmol creatinine). A combined biomarker and pyuria model showed improved diagnostic accuracy in patients with UTI and ASB, compared with pyuria alone.

DISCUSSION

We identified several urine biomarkers that accurately differentiated older women with UTI from asymptomatic women, including ASB. These findings represent a potential advancement towards improved diagnostics for UTI in older women and warrant validation in a diverse population.

Structured alcohol cessation support program versus current practice in acute alcoholic pancreatitis (PANDA): Study protocol for a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The most important risk factor for recurrent pancreatitis after an episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis is continuation of alcohol use. Current guidelines do not recommend any specific treatment strategy regarding alcohol cessation. The PANDA trial investigates whether implementation of a structured alcohol cessation support program prevents pancreatitis recurrence after a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis.

METHODS

PANDA is a nationwide cluster randomised superiority trial. Participating hospitals are randomised for the investigational management, consisting of a structured alcohol cessation support program, or current practice. Patients with a first episode of acute pancreatitis caused by harmful drinking (AUDIT score >7 and < 16 for men and >6 and < 14 for women) will be included. The primary endpoint is recurrence of acute pancreatitis. Secondary endpoints include cessation or reduction of alcohol use, other alcohol-related diseases, mortality, quality of life, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and costs. The follow-up period comprises one year after inclusion.

DISCUSSION

This is the first multicentre trial with a cluster randomised trial design to investigate whether a structured alcohol cessation support program reduces recurrent acute pancreatitis in patients after a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis, as compared with current practice.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Netherlands Trial Registry (NL8852). Prospectively registered.

Current Pyuria Cutoffs Promote Inappropriate Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis in Older Women

BACKGROUND

Pre-existing lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), cognitive impairment, and the high prevalence of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) complicate the diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) in older women. The presence of pyuria remains the cornerstone of UTI diagnosis. However, >90% of ASB patients have pyuria, prompting unnecessary treatment. We quantified pyuria by automated microscopy and flowcytometry to determine the diagnostic accuracy for UTI and to derive pyuria thresholds for UTI in older women.

METHODS

Women ≥65 years with ≥2 new-onset LUTS and 1 uropathogen ≥104 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL were included in the UTI group. Controls were asymptomatic and classified as ASB (1 uropathogen ≥105 CFU/mL), negative culture, or mixed flora. Patients with an indwelling catheter or antimicrobial pretreatment were excluded. Leukocyte medians were compared and sensitivity-specificity pairs were derived from a receiver operating characteristic curve.

RESULTS

We included 164 participants. UTI patients had higher median urinary leukocytes compared with control patients (microscopy: 900 vs 26 leukocytes/µL; flowcytometry: 1575 vs 23 leukocytes/µL; P < .001). Area under the curve was 0.93 for both methods. At a cutoff of 264 leukocytes/µL, sensitivity and specificity of microscopy were 88% (positive and negative likelihood ratio: 7.2 and 0.1, respectively). The commonly used cutoff of 10 leukocytes/µL had a poor specificity (36%) and a sensitivity of 100%.

CONCLUSIONS

The degree of pyuria can help to distinguish UTI in older women from ASB and asymptomatic controls with pyuria. Current pyuria cutoffs are too low and promote inappropriate UTI diagnosis in older women. Clinical Trials Registration. International Clinical Trials Registry Platform: NL9477 (https://trialsearch.who.int/Trial2.aspx?TrialID=NL9477).

Determinants of inappropriate antibiotic prescription in primary care in developed countries with general practitioners as gatekeepers: a systematic review and construction of a framework

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to identify determinants of inappropriate antibiotic prescription in primary care in developed countries and to construct a framework with the determinants to help understand which actions can best be targeted to counteract development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

DESIGN

A systematic review of peer-reviewed studies reporting determinants of inappropriate antibiotic prescription published through 9 September 2021 in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library was performed.

SETTING

All studies focusing on primary care in developed countries where general practitioners (GPs) act as gatekeepers for referral to medical specialists and hospital care were included.

RESULTS

Seventeen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were used for the analysis which identified 45 determinants of inappropriate antibiotic prescription. Important determinants for inappropriate antibiotic prescription were comorbidity, primary care not considered to be responsible for development of AMR and GP perception of patient desire for antibiotics. A framework was constructed with the determinants and provides a broad overview of several domains. The framework can be used to identify several reasons for inappropriate antibiotic prescription in a specific primary care setting and from there, choose the most suitable intervention(s) and assist in implementing them for combatting AMR.

CONCLUSIONS

The type of infection, comorbidity and the GPs perception of a patient's desire for antibiotics are consistently identified as factors driving inappropriate antibiotic prescription in primary care. A framework with determinants of inappropriate antibiotic prescription may be useful after validation for effective implementation of interventions for decreasing these inappropriate prescriptions.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42023396225.

Trends in antibiotic selection pressure generated in primary care and their association with sentinel antimicrobial resistance patterns in Europe

OBJECTIVES

We studied trends in antibiotic prescribing by primary care and assessed the associations between generated antibiotic selection pressure (ASP) and the prevalence of sentinel drug-resistant microorganisms (SDRMs).

METHODS

The volume of antibiotic prescribing in primary and hospital care expressed in DDD/1000 inhabitants per day and the prevalences of SDRMs in European countries where GPs act as gatekeepers were obtained from the European Centre for Disease Control ESAC-NET. Associations were tested between (i) DDD and (ii) the Antibiotic Spectrum Index (ASI) as a proxy indicator for ASP, and the prevalences of three SDRMs: MRSA, MDR Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pneumoniae resistant to macrolides.

RESULTS

Fourteen European countries were included. Italy, Poland and Spain had the highest prevalence of SDRMs and prescribed the highest volume of antibiotics in primary care (average 17 DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day), approximately twice that of countries with the lowest volumes. Moreover, the ASIs of these high antibiotic volume countries were approximately three times higher than those of the low-volume countries. Cumulative ASI showed the strongest association with a country's prevalence of SDRMs. The cumulative ASI generated from primary care was about four to five times higher than the cumulative ASI generated by hospital care.

CONCLUSIONS

Prevalences of SDRMs are associated with the volume of antimicrobial prescribing and in particular broad-spectrum antibiotics in European countries where GPs act as gatekeepers. The impact of ASP generated from primary care on increasing antimicrobial resistance may be much larger than currently assumed.

Exploring the Barriers in the Uptake of the Dutch MRSA ‘Search and Destroy’ Policy Using the Cascade of Care Approach

The Dutch ‘search and destroy’ policy consists of screening patients with an increased risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriership and subsequent decolonization treatment when carriership is found. Decolonization therapy of individual MRSA carriers is effective. However, the effectiveness of the national ‘search and destroy’ policy is dependent on the entire cascade of care, including identification, referral, and subsequent treatment initiation in MRSA carriers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the leakages in the cascade of MRSA decolonization care. We assessed familiarity with the ‘search and destroy’ policy and the barriers in the uptake of MRSA eradication care using a questionnaire among 114 Dutch general practitioners. The main reasons for treatment were planned hospital visits, occupational reasons, and infections. The main reasons for refraining from eradication treatment were unfamiliarity with the ‘search and destroy’ policy and the assumption that MRSA carriership is often self-limiting. To optimize the continuity of the cascade of care, interventions should be aimed at supporting general practitioners and facilitating treatment and referral.

Cues to improve antibiotic-allergy registration: A mixed-method study

BACKGROUND

Approximately 2% of patients in primary care practice and up to 25% of hospital patients are registered as being allergic to an antibiotic. However, up to 90% of these registrations are incorrect, leading to unnecessary prescription of 2nd choice antibiotics with the attendant loss of efficacy, increased toxicity and antibiotic resistance. To improve registration, a better understanding is needed of how incorrect labels are attributed.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the quality of antibiotic allergy registration in primary care and identify determinants to improve registration of antibiotic allergies.

DESIGN

Registration of antibiotic allergies in primary care practices were analysed for 1) completeness and 2) correctness. To identify determinants for improvement, semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers from four healthcare domains were conducted.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 300 antibiotic allergy registrations were analysed for completeness and correctness. Thirty-four healthcare providers were interviewed.

MAIN MEASURES

A registration was defined as complete when it included a description of all symptoms, time to onset of symptoms and the duration of symptoms. It was defined as correct when the conclusion was concordant with the Salden criteria. Determinants of correct antibiotic allergy registrations were divided into facilitators or obstructers.

KEY RESULTS

Rates of completeness and correctness of registrations were 0% and 29.3%, respectively. The main perceived barriers for correct antibiotic allergy registration were insufficient knowledge, lack of priority, limitations of registration features in electronic medical records (EMR), fear of medical liability and patients interpreting side-effects as allergies.

CONCLUSIONS

The quality of antibiotic allergy registrations can be improved. Potential interventions include raising awareness of the consequences of incomplete and the importance of correct registrations, by continued education, and above all simplifying registration in an EMR by adequate ICT support.

Alcohol Reduction to Reduce Relapse in Acute Alcoholic Pancreatitis-Missed Opportunities

Aim

Resuming drinking is a main contributant to recurrence in alcoholic pancreatitis. We assessed current clinical practice in the Netherlands regarding alcohol in managing patients with a first episode of acute alcoholic pancreatitis.

Methods

A survey was distributed to 35 hospitals affiliated with the Dutch Pancreatitis Study Group. We evaluated current support based on various components of brief interventions, the participation of psychosocial healthcare providers, the cooperation with the primary care physicians and the presence of a protocol and its implementation.

Results

The response rate was 100% (n = 35). Psychoeducation is the most frequently performed intervention in current support treatment (97% of hospitals). In 17% of hospitals, healthcare providers with a psychosocial background routinely participate in current support treatment; 37% of hospitals create an individual treatment plan in which goals regarding alcohol cessation are specified and only 46% of hospitals provide the primary care physician with specific discharge information; 31% of hospitals indicate that the treatment is uniformly performed within their division of Gastroenterology. Protocols are available in 3% of the hospitals surveyed. Opportunities to involve the patient’s social network were not given sufficient priority.

Conclusion

Among Dutch hospitals, there is no routine management strategy with regard to enhancing treatment for heavy alcohol use in alcoholic pancreatitis patients. There is a need to test a validated support program in randomized studies. Meanwhile, possible opportunities for effecting change are often missed.

Antimicrobial guidelines in clinical practice: incorporating the ethical perspective

Introduction

Guidelines on antimicrobial therapy are subject to periodic revision to anticipate changes in the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance and new scientific knowledge. Changing a policy to a broader spectrum has important consequences on both the individual patient level (e.g. effectiveness, toxicity) and population level (e.g. emerging resistance, costs). By combining both clinical data evaluation and an ethical analysis, we aim to propose a comprehensive framework to guide antibiotic policy dilemmas.

Methods

A preliminary framework for decision-making on antimicrobial policy was constructed based on existing literature and panel discussions. Antibiotic policy themes were translated into specific elements that were fitted into this framework. The adapted framework was evaluated in two moral deliberation groups. The moral deliberation sessions were analysed using ATLAS.ti statistical software to categorize arguments and evaluate completeness of the final framework.

Results

The final framework outlines the process of data evaluation, ethical deliberation and decision-making. The first phase is a factual data exploration. In the second phase, perspectives are weighed and the policy of moral preference is formulated. Judgments are made on three levels: the individual patient, the patient population and society. In the final phase, feasibility, implementation and re-evaluation are addressed.

Conclusions

The proposed framework facilitates decision-making on antibiotic policy by structuring existing data, identifying knowledge gaps, explicating ethical considerations and balancing interests of the individual and current and future generations.

[Cross-allergy to penicillins and cephalosporins: problematic when prescribing cephalosporins?]

Penicillin allergy is commonly reported and often influences selection of antimicrobial treatment. Due to concerns about cross-allergic reactions, other beta-lactams - particularly cephalosporins - may also be avoided. This too often results in less effective treatment, more side effects and overconsumption of reserve antimicrobial agents. Most patients (> 90%) with a penicillin allergy label are not truly allergic, i.e., they do not have an 'immediate type' (IgE-mediated) allergy when tested. Based on current data, even in patients with a true penicillin allergy, the risk of severe cross-allergic reactions to cephalosporins is very low. Clinicians tend to overestimate this risk: this dilemma can be resolved with a systematic appraisal of risk probabilities. The limited risk of a true penicillin allergy being present and the subsequent low risk of a cross-allergic reaction to cephalosporins generally outweighs the disadvantages of selecting an alternative (non-beta-lactam) antimicrobial regimen.

[Summary of the 'Thyroid disorders' guideline of the Dutch College of General Practitioners' (NHG)]

The 'Thyroid disorders' guideline of the Dutch College of General Practitioners (NHG) provides recommendations for the diagnosis and management of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and changes in the size of the thyroid gland, such as goitre and thyroid nodules. Hypothyroid patients younger than 60 years and without cardiac comorbidity should receive the full substitution dose of levothyroxine at treatment onset. In case of hypothyroidism in pregnancy, the levothyroxine dose should be immediately increased by 25%. All pregnant patients with (a history of) thyroid diseases should be tested for TSH-receptor antibodies at the start of the pregnancy. Management of subclinical hypo- and hyperthyroidism consists of monitoring laboratory values due to the great likelihood of normalization of the TSH value. All patients with a solitary nodule or a dominant nodule in a multinodular goitre should be referred to an endocrinologist for further investigation.