Discordant vs. Appropriate Antibiotic Treatment of UTIs Increased Risk for Return Office Visits and Hospitalization

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a leading cause of antibiotic utilization in primary care. In the U.K., one antimicrobial stewardship tactic entails limiting urine cultures to complicated UTIs, treatment failures, and cases with suspected resistance. Researchers in London performed a retrospective cohort study to evaluate discordant (antibiotic-resistant microorganism) versus appropriate (antibiotic-sensitive microorganism) antimicrobial therapy begun within 3 days of a physician consultation for UTI, and their relationship to hospital admission and need for re-consultation.

Among 11963 UTI episodes in 8324 patients (median age, 54), women accounted for 87% of all episodes and the most common organism was E. coli (72%). The most frequent…