Background: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), or bacterial growth on urine culture without localizing urinary symptoms, is common in hospitalized patients.1,2 ASB is often misdiagnosed as urinary tract infection (UTI) and treated with antibiotics3 despite no improvement in mortality1 and multiple harms associated with antibiotic overuse.4,5 To reduce treatment of ASB, many hospitals set urinalysis parameters (e.g. […]

Background: Closing the gap between evidence-supported antibiotic use and prescribing patterns among clinicians is a vital component of curbing excessive antibiotic use, a practice that fosters antimicrobial resistance and exposes patients to the side effects of antimicrobial agents. Providing medication prescribing information via scorecard has been shown to improve clinician adherence to quality metrics in […]

Background: Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common causes of hospitalization in the United States1 and a frequent source of antibiotic overuse.2 Two thirds of patients hospitalized for CAP receive excess antibiotic duration, primarily from excess therapy at discharge.3 Patients living in rural areas are known to have worse health outcomes than […]

Background: Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), the presence of bacteria in urine without signs or symptoms of a urinary tract infection, is a common finding. The current recommendation by the Infectious Diseases Society of America is against screening for and treating ASB in patients undergoing non-urologic surgeries, due to the lack of demonstrable benefit in reducing the […]

Background: The CDC recognizes antimicrobial resistance as an urgent global public health threat and supports antibiotic stewardship initiatives to combat antibiotic resistance. Pneumonia is a frequent condition treated by both hospitalists and emergency room physicians and the most common reason for inpatient antibiotic use and over prescribing. Recent IDSA guidelines for the treatment of community […]

Case Presentation: A 62-year-old female presented with a two-week history of right upper quadrant abdominal pain radiating to the back. Her pain was described as sharp and intermittent and associated with subjective fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness. On examination, the patient was hypertensive but afebrile. Abdominal tenderness was noted in the right upper quadrant […]