1082. Hold the Phone: Antibiotic Prescribing Practices Associated with Nonvisit Encounters for Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Urology Clinics

Abstract

BackgroundSurveillance data uncovers a high proportion of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms found in the outpatient setting, often in patients with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs), underlying urologic abnormalities, and prior treatment for UTIs. We assessed prescribing practices at urology clinics to identify potential stewardship strategies for UTI management.MethodsAntibiotic prescription encounters for adult patients from nine urology clinics were obtained from July to September 2018 using the EHR. We collected encounter types (visit or nonvisit), ordering medical provider types, antibiotic classes and patient demographics. A subset of 50 randomized, unique patient telephone encounters (TEs) was reviewed for documentation of a UTI diagnosis, symptoms, urinalysis and culture results, antibiotic prescriptions and duration.ResultsA total of 1,704 antibiotic orders were identified for 1,210 patients (48% female, median age 69 years, IQR 20). The majority (75%) of antibiotic encounters were from nonvisits: TEs (39%), orders only (25%), refills (9%), and patient email (2%). Major prescribers were advanced practice providers (APPs, 61%) followed by attending physicians (38%). Antibiotics prescribed were fluoroquinolones (FQs, 27%), nitrofurantoin (24%), first-generation cephalosporins (16%), and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole (15%). From the subset of 50 TEs, APPs wrote 76% of prescriptions and 32% of all orders were FQs. Thirty-nine patients had a clinical UTI diagnosis, yet 33% (13/39) did not have documentation of at least one urinary sign or symptom. For symptomatic patients, 15% (4/26) did not have a urine culture result within one week before or after the TE date. The distribution of antibiotics prescribed was similar to overall use and the median duration was 7 days.ConclusionUrology practices care for patients with the most complicated urinary tract pathology and appropriate antibiotic use in this population is a challenge. We found that urology providers often prescribe antibiotics to elderly patients without in-person visits, documentation of symptoms or microbiologic evidence of a UTI. Stewardship efforts should involve APPs, developing diagnostic and treatment guidelines for UTIs and improving documentation for antibiotic orders.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.