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Urine Cultures among Hospitalized Veterans: Casting Too Broad a Net?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 May 2016

Dimitri M. Drekonja*
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Christina Gnadt
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Michael A. Kuskowski
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
James R. Johnson
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, Minnesota Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
*
Infectious Diseases (111F), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1 Veterans Drive, Minneapolis, MN 55417 (drek0002@umn.edu)

Abstract

Since detection of asymptomatic bacteriuria among inpatients often leads to inappropriate antimicrobial treatment, we studied why urine cultures were ordered and correlates of treatment. Most cultures were obtained from patients without urinary complaints and a minority from asymptomatic patients. High-count bacteriuria, not clinical manifestations, appeared to trigger most antimicrobial use.

Type
Concise Communication
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2014

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