Current surveillance for healthcare-associated (HA) urinary tract infection (UTI) is focused on catheter-associated infection with hospital onset (HO-CAUTI), yet this surveillance does not represent the full burden of HA-UTI to patients. Our objective was to measure the incidence of potentially HA, community-onset (CO) UTI in a retrospective cohort of hospitalized patients.

Retrospective cohort study.

Academic, quaternary care, referral center.

Hospitalized adults at risk for HA-UTI from May 2009 to December 2011 were included.

Patients who did not experience a UTI during the index hospitalization were followed for 30 days post discharge to identify cases of potentially HA-CO UTI.

We identified 3,273 patients at risk for potentially HA-CO UTI. The incidence of HA-CO UTI in the 30 days post discharge was 29.8 per 1,000 patients. Independent risk factors of HA-CO UTI included paraplegia or quadriplegia (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2–18.0), indwelling catheter during index hospitalization (aOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0–2.3), prior piperacillin-tazobactam prescription (aOR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.1–4.5), prior penicillin class prescription (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.0–2.8), and private insurance (aOR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4–0.9).

HA-CO UTI may be common within 30 days following hospital discharge. These data suggest that surveillance efforts may need to be expanded to capture the full burden to patients and better inform antibiotic prescribing decisions for patients with a history of hospitalization.

To quantify the frequency and outcomes of receiving an antibiotic prescription upon discharge from the hospital to long-term care facilities (LTCFs).

Retrospective cohort study.

A 576-bed, academic hospital in Portland, Oregon.

Adult inpatients (≥18 years of age) discharged to an LTCF between January 1, 2012, and June 30, 2016.

Our primary outcome was receiving a systemic antibiotic prescription upon discharge to an LTCF. We also quantified the association between receiving an antibiotic prescription and 30-day hospital readmission, 30-day emergency department (ED) visit, and Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) on a readmission or ED visit at the index facility within 60 days of discharge.

Among 6,701 discharges to an LTCF, 22.9% were prescribed antibiotics upon discharge. The most prevalent antibiotic classes prescribed were cephalosporins (20.4%), fluoroquinolones (19.1%), and penicillins (16.7%). The medical records of ~82% of patients included a diagnosis code for a bacterial infection on the index admission. Among patients prescribed an antibiotic upon discharge, the incidence of 30-day hospital readmission to the index facility was 15.9%, the incidence of 30-day ED visit at the index facility was 11.0%, and the incidence of CDI on a readmission or ED visit within 60 days of discharge was 1.6%. Receiving an antibiotic prescription upon discharge was significantly associated with 30-day ED visits (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.5) and with CDI within 60 days (aOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.02–2.8) but not with 30-day readmissions (aOR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.9–1.2).

Antibiotics were frequently prescribed upon discharge to LTCFs, which may be associated with increased risk of poor outcomes post discharge.

To assess general medical residents’ familiarity with antibiograms using a self-administered survey

Cross-sectional, single-center survey

Residents in internal medicine, family medicine, and pediatrics at an academic medical center

Participants were administered an anonymous survey at our institution during regularly scheduled educational conferences between January and May 2012. Questions collected data regarding demographics, professional training; further open-ended questions assessed knowledge and use of antibiograms regarding possible pathogens, antibiotic regimens, and prescribing resources for 2 clinical vignettes; a series of directed, closed-ended questions followed. Bivariate analyses to compare responses between residency programs were performed.

Of 122 surveys distributed, 106 residents (87%) responded; internal medicine residents accounted for 69% of responses. More than 20% of residents could not accurately identify pathogens to target with empiric therapy or select therapy with an appropriate spectrum of activity in response to the clinical vignettes; correct identification of potential pathogens was not associated with selecting appropriate therapy. Only 12% of respondents identified antibiograms as a resource when prescribing empiric antibiotic therapy for scenarios in the vignettes, with most selecting the UpToDate online clinical decision support resource or The Sanford Guide. When directly questioned, 89% reported awareness of institutional antibiograms, but only 70% felt comfortable using them and only 44% knew how to access them.

When selecting empiric antibiotics, many residents are not comfortable using antibiograms as part of treatment decisions. Efforts to improve antibiotic use may benefit from residents being given additional education on both infectious diseases pharmacotherapy and antibiogram utilization.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:578–583