Quality improvement program of adult urinary tract infection management: Review and impact

A quality improvement program for adult urinary tract infection management was established to avoid unnecessary antibiotic treatment and to promote adequate prescription, associated with financial and time savings.

Management was integrated into a three-step approach: clinical diagnosis, bacteriological diagnosis, and therapeutic decision. For each step, areas for improvement were prioritized and implemented through corrective measures and key messages, measured by indicators. This program was applied to the whole hospital, which includes an emergency department and hospital units (672 beds).

The diffusion of new recommendations on clinical diagnosis helped limit the use of Urine Dipstick Tests (UDT) and identify situations requiring the prescription of urine cytobacteriological test (UCBE) and antibiotic treatment: decreased annual consumption of UDTs (34%) and UCBEs (25%). The implementation of a new sampling system for UCBEs was associated with a 21% increase in conclusive analysis. Results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing were also optimized. Trainings on the proper use of antibiotics led to a 5.0% decline in global consumption. Only 23 antibiotic prescriptions for UTI resulted in pharmaceutical advice to prescribers in 2014.

The program is part of a practice improvement strategy. Integrating the management of urinary tract infections into a global process helped improve each step of patient management.