Drug-resistant bacteria caused nearly 6% of urinary tract infections in a yearlong study of a California emergency department, according to findings published in Annals of Emergency Medicine.
In many cases, patients had no identifiable risk for this kind of infection, and the bacteria were resistant to many commonly used antibiotics.
“What’s new is that, in many of these resistant urinary tract infections, it may simply be impossible to identify which patients are at risk,” said lead author Bradley W. Frazee, M.D., an attending physician at Alameda Health System Highland Hospital. “Addressing the causes of antibiotic resistance, and developing novel drugs, is imperative. A society without working antibiotics would be like returning to preindustrial times, when a small injury or infection could easily become life-threatening.”
From August 2016 to July 2017, researchers analyzed 1,745 urinary cultures. The bacteria were mostly E. coli and resistant to cephalosporin antibiotics. Historically, such resistant bacteria were found in patients with hospital-based infections, but 44% of the analyzed were community-based.
The authors recommended immediate changes to clinical practice, such as wider use of urine culture tests and a more reliable follow-up system for patients who have a resistant bug.
From the October 2018 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
