Antibiotics for urinary tract infections

General practitioner

Antibiotics for urinary tract infections

General practitioner
In daily practice, uncomplicated urinary tract infections are often treated with antibiotics. While the infection heals spontaneously in some of the cases.

A urinary tract infection is the most common condition for woman visiting a doctor. In an average general practice, 2 to 3 women per week visit with a urinary tract infection. The GP Standard Urinary Tract Infections advises a wait-and-see approach for an uncomplicated urinary tract infection, as it usually heals by itself. In addition, more than 10% of women develop a fungal infection as a result of the treatment. In the light of the worldwide increasing resistance to antibiotics, prescribing antibiotics for a complaint that can also resolve itself no longer seems justified.

Approach

The de-implementation strategy consists of several components. For example, the practice protocol for women with an uncomplicated urinary tract infection will be adapted. Both general practitioners and assistants receive further training and benchmark information about the number of antibiotic prescriptions for uncomplicated urinary tract infection. Patient information is also made available. The goal is to reduce the number of antibiotic prescriptions for a urinary tract infection in practices by 15%.

“It requires a cultural change not to write out a prescription routinely, but to take a step back by watchful waiting for a number of days.”

Progress

Planned start: September 2020
Planned duration: 2 jaar

Learn more

Send an email to info@doenoflaten.nl

Stakeholders:

Rianne Rozendaal PhD

Coordinator of the academic GP network PrimEUR | Erasmus Medical Center

Leo Spee

General practitioner and member of the academic GP network PrimEUR | Erasmus Medical Center

Antoinette van Driel

General practitioner and member of the academic GP network PrimEUR | Erasmus Medical Center