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Papers of the Week


2022 Oct


Heliyon


8


10

Urine testing is associated with inappropriate antibiotic use and increased length of stay in emergency department patients.

Authors

Childers R, Liotta B, Brennan J, Wang P, Kattoula J, Tran T, Montilla-Guedez H, Castillo EM, Vilke G
Heliyon. 2022 Oct; 8(10):e11049.
PMID: 36281377.

Abstract

Exposing patients with a low probability of disease to diagnostic testing with poor test characteristics leads to false positive results. Providers often act on these false results, which can cause unnecessary evaluation and treatment. The treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria is discouraged, but it still frequently occurs in the inpatient setting; it is less studied in the Emergency Department (ED). In this study, we examine associations between urine testing, inappropriate antibiotic use, and length of stay in discharged ED patients at risk of urinary tract infection (UTI) misdiagnosis.