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Evidence clearly indicates that patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria should not be treated (other than those who are pregnant or about to undergo invasive genitourinary tract procedures). And yet, studies show that many patients with the condition continue to receive antibiotics.
In hopes of modifying irrational prescribing behavior, researchers changed the way in which the microbiology lab in a single Toronto hospital reported results of urine cultures. All urine cultures were processed as usual, but, during two nonconsecutive months, culture results obtained from noncatheterized patients were not posted to medical records. Instead, clinicians saw a reminder that bacteriuria in asymptomatic noncatheterized patients usually does not indica…