UTI antibiotics overprescribed

Nursing home residents with urinary tract infections are commonly prescribed inappropriate medication, according to a new study.

The use of antibiotics to treat UTIs is appropriate only if the patient meets certain criteria, such as fever or a burning sensation while urinating, according to researchers.

In a small study, Dr. David Dosa and colleagues chronicled 172 cases of suspected UTI over the course of six months. Of those, only 26 cases met the criteria for treatment with antibiotics, while 70 patients were inappropriately prescribed antibiotics, according to the online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.