New study: Antibiotic use for urinary tract infections is high in nursing homes

The recent article published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society examined urinary tract infections (UTI) and antibiotic use in nursing homes in tropical Australia. One in five residents had received antibiotics within the last 30 days, of which 45% were for UTI. Suspected UTI is the most common reason for antibiotic prescription in nursing home residents and a presumptive diagnosis based often on non-specific symptoms. This results in an over diagnosis of UTI and a significant overuse of antibiotics. With the ever-increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the studies have found that 43% of nursing homes residents in some countries are colonized with at least one multi-resistant pathogen. In tackling AMR it is important to ensure that antibiotics are only used when clearly indicated.

Read the article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/jgs.15179/full

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Uricult dipslides are easy-to-perform bacterial culture tests for detection of urinary tract infections (UTI) in point of care settings. Read more on Uricult tests