Deep Dive #6: Bacteriuria and the Elderly

Author: Heidi Wald, MD, MSPH

Associate Professor of Medicine - University of Colorado School of Medicine, Physician Advisor - Colorado Hospital Association

Dr. Heidi Wald explains common misconceptions of UTI's in elderly patients and provides tips on how to properly identify them.

References:

Trestioreanu , Adi Lador , May-Tal Sauerbrun-Cutler and Leonard Leibovici Antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria Cochrane Collaborative Online Publication Date: April 2015.

Trautner BW, Bhimani RD, Amspoker AB, et al. Development and validation of an algorithm to recalibrate mental models and reduce diagnostic errors associated with catheter-associated bacteriuria. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2013;13:48.

Trautner BW, Grigoryan L, Petersen NJ, et al. Effectiveness of an Antimicrobial Stewardship Approach for Urinary Catheter Associated Asymptomatic Bacteriuria. JAMA Intern Med 2015.

D'Agata E, Loeb MB, and Mitchell. Challenges in assessing nursing home residents with advanced dementia for suspected urinary tract infections. J Am Geriatr Soc.2013 Jan;61(1):62-6. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12070.

Stone ND, Ashraf MS, Calder J, et al. Surveillance definitions of infections in long-term care facilities: revisiting the McGeer criteria. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2012;33:965-77.