LO38: Reducing inappropriate urine culture testing in the emergency department

Abstract

Background: Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a common emergency department (ED) presentation. Urine cultures (UC) are frequently ordered to confirm the diagnosis, however, it can be challenging to differentiate between a true infection and asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) which does not generally benefit from antibiotics. This over-treatment of ASB leads to serious adverse side effects, growing antimicrobial resistance and increased healthcare costs. By reducing inappropriate ED urine culture testing, we can concomitantly avoid the false positives that contribute to this large-scale problem. Aim Statement: We aimed to reduce ED urine culture testing at Credit Valley Hospital, a large community hospital based in Mississauga, Ontario by 30%, from a baseline average of 97 cultures per 1000 ED visits in 2017, to 68 cultures per 1000 ED visits by year end 2019. Measures & Design: Multiple PDSA cycles were ran with our multi-disciplinary ED team. Our interventions to encourage rational urine culture testing are three-fold, including (1) medical directive optimization (removal of routine sending of UC), (2) individualized physician feedback and (3) physician education with introduction of a clinical decision aid. Our outcome measure is rate of UC per 1000 ED patient visits with a balance measure of rate of 30-day ED return visit of hospital admission for patients with a UTI. Evaluation/Results: Despite a parallel surge in ED volumes, we observed a significant decrease in urine culture testing, from an annual average of 97 cultures per 1000 ED visits to 60 cultures per 1000 ED visits in 2019 year-to-date. There was no increase in the rate of ED 30-day return visit or admission for UTI or a diagnostic equivalent. Discussion/Impact: Our multipronged approach effectively decreased the rate of UC testing during the study period. ED physicians provide higher quality care with judicious use of resources to guide diagnosis and management. Active ongoing interventions include our transition to a 2-step UC order protocol (uncoupling urinalysis with culture) using BD vacutainer urine collection products, which will allow for 48 hour storage of uncompromised urine. Further work will leverage our knowledge and experience with optimizing urine culture testing to other culture specimens.