{"title":"Evaluating antibiotic prescribing practices for patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria in Saudi Arabia: The need for stewardship initiatives.","authors":"Ahlam Alghamdi","doi":"10.1016/j.idh.2025.04.003","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) often receive unnecessary antibiotic treatment, leading to antibiotic resistance without improving patient outcomes. We qualitatively assessed antibiotic use in patients with ASB at a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This a retrospective observational study included patients diagnosed with ASB based on established criteria based on data collected through manual chart review. We evaluated antibiotic use, including indications, selection, and duration of therapy. Data were collected from August 2022-2023 and analyzed from December 2023 to May 2024.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among 1250 episodes of bacteriuria, 731 were classified as ASB. The percentage of appropriate ASB antibiotic prescriptions, as indicated by the guidelines, was 51.8 %; 27.7 % of patients received antibiotics for recommended cases, whereas 24 % did not receive antibiotics in the absence of recommendation. The percentages of appropriate antibiotic selection and duration of antibiotic prescription for appropriate indications were 72 % and 59.6 %, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Most bacteriuria among patients was ASB, with high rates of treatment and prolonged durations of therapy for ASB.</p>","PeriodicalId":94040,"journal":{"name":"Infection, disease & health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Infection, disease & health","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idh.2025.04.003","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Patients with asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) often receive unnecessary antibiotic treatment, leading to antibiotic resistance without improving patient outcomes. We qualitatively assessed antibiotic use in patients with ASB at a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Methods: This a retrospective observational study included patients diagnosed with ASB based on established criteria based on data collected through manual chart review. We evaluated antibiotic use, including indications, selection, and duration of therapy. Data were collected from August 2022-2023 and analyzed from December 2023 to May 2024.
Results: Among 1250 episodes of bacteriuria, 731 were classified as ASB. The percentage of appropriate ASB antibiotic prescriptions, as indicated by the guidelines, was 51.8 %; 27.7 % of patients received antibiotics for recommended cases, whereas 24 % did not receive antibiotics in the absence of recommendation. The percentages of appropriate antibiotic selection and duration of antibiotic prescription for appropriate indications were 72 % and 59.6 %, respectively.
Conclusion: Most bacteriuria among patients was ASB, with high rates of treatment and prolonged durations of therapy for ASB.