Empiric Antibiotic Therapy for Catheter-Associated UTI — Does It Help?

In a prospective study among very elderly patients, appropriate empiric antibiotic therapy for urinary tract infection was not associated with improved 30-day or long-term mortality.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is one of the leading healthcare-related infections and is a major reason for in-hospital antibiotic use. Fever in association with a urinary catheter is a frequent trigger of antibiotic use that is often broad-spectrum.

To ascertain whether appropriate early empiric antibiotic therapy was associated with improved outcomes in CAUTI, researchers at a single medical center in Israel performed a prospective observational cohort study between August 2010 and February 2015, including 315 consecutive hospitalized adult patients (mean age, 79 years) with a urinary catheter in place for ≥7 days who had evidence of urinary tract infection and at least two markers of systemic inflammation.

The median …

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

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Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Empiric Antibiotic Therapy for Catheter-Associated UTI — Does It Help?

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Reviewing Author