The Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infections and Antibiotic Prescription Treatments Across Three Countries: A Retrospective Study Using an Electronic Medical Record.

Abstract

Introduction The Clinical Rotation Evaluation and Documentation Organizer (CREDO) is an electronic medical record (EMR) system created by the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). International healthcare providers who partner with VCOM can gain access to CREDO and input their patient data.The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnoses and prescription use over a one-year period in three Latin Americancountries. Methods Researchers analyzed the frequency of UTI diagnosis with corresponding prescription recommendations over a 12-month period in three Latin American countries (i.e., Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Honduras) that utilize the CREDO system. For each month between May 2021 and May 2022, the total number of UTI diagnosis codes and prescription codes were summed, graphed, and analyzed. Results In El Salvador, there were 142 UTIs and 126 corresponding prescriptions written for UTIs reported from May 2021 to May 2022 but diagnoses were not consistent each month. Ciprofloxacin was prescribed most frequently at a rate of 43.7% in El Salvador.In Honduras, there were 68 UTIs and 68 corresponding prescriptions written for the UTIs reported from May 2021 until May 2022 withCiprofloxacin being prescribed most frequently at a rate of 39.7%. Again, diagnosis frequency was not consistent each month. In the Dominican Republic, there were 42 UTIs and 14 corresponding prescriptions written for those UTIs reported, however,data only reflected two months' worth of UTI diagnoses from May 2021 to May 2022. Fosfomycin was prescribed most frequently at a rate of 61.5%. Conclusion: The findings above suggest that there are inconsistent UTI reports throughout the year with a varied use ofantibiotics prescriptions for UTIs. The discovered discrepancies in disease reporting, or lack thereof of reporting, and prescription recommendation suggest inconsistent reporting in CREDO. In the future, focused education or revision on CREDO reporting and uniform coding practices could be implemented to reduce these inconsistencies.