Why Are We Frequently Ordering Urinalyses in Patients without Symptoms of Urinary Tract Infections in the Emergency Department?

Tessa M. Z. X. K. van Horrik (), Bart J. Laan, Allard B. Huizinga, Gercora Hoitinga, Walter P. Poortvliet and Suzanne E. Geerlings
Additional contact information
Tessa M. Z. X. K. van Horrik: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Room D3-226 Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Bart J. Laan: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Room D3-226 Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Allard B. Huizinga: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Room D3-226 Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Gercora Hoitinga: Department of Emergency Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Walter P. Poortvliet: Department of Emergency Medicine, Meander MC, 3813 TZ Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Suzanne E. Geerlings: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Room D3-226 Meibergdreef 9, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-8

Abstract: (1) Background: In the emergency department (ED), ordering urine tests in patients without symptoms of a urinary tract infection can lead to inappropriate antimicrobial treatment. We aimed to identify factors contributing to the unnecessary ordering of urinalyses in the ED. (2) Methods: An online survey study among nurses and physicians working in the EDs of five hospitals in the Netherlands was conducted. (3) Results: The overall response rate was 26% (221/850; 85 nurses and 136 physicians). The vast majority of the respondents reported knowing when to order urine tests (197/221; 90%). Almost two-thirds of the respondents (145/221; 66%) agreed that they ordered urinalyses because it is rapid and non-invasive to patients. Most nurses (66/86; 78%) said they informed the doctor if they thought the urine test would not contribute to the patient’s diagnosis, but only one-third of the physicians agreed with this statement (44/136; 32%). Most respondents (160/221; 72%) thought guidelines or protocols about urinalyses in the ED would be functional. (4) Conclusions: These results suggest urinalyses were frequently ordered in the ED to achieve a fast work process. Nurses and physicians could improve their communication about the indications for urine tests. Developing diagnostic guidelines for urine testing may be convenient.

Keywords: urinalysis; emergency services; antimicrobial stewardship; quality improvement; urinary tract infections (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/10757/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/17/10757/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:17:p:10757-:d:900884

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().