Nearly half of women with uncomplicated urinary tract infections received the wrong antibiotics and almost three-quarters received prescriptions for longer than necessary, with inappropriately long treatment durations more common in rural areas, according to a study of private insurance claims data published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
“Inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions for uncomplicated urinary tract infections are prevalent and come with serious patient- and society-level consequences,” said Anne Mobley Butler, PhD, lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine and surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis. “Our study findings underscore the need for antimicrobial stewardship interventions to improve outpatient antibiotic prescribing, particularly in rural settings.”
