We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
PURITAN MEDICAL

Download Mobile App




Events

09 Apr 2024 - 12 Apr 2024
15 Apr 2024 - 17 Apr 2024
23 Apr 2024 - 26 Apr 2024

Diagnostic Errors Lead to Inappropriate Antimicrobial Use

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 01 Jun 2015
Print article
Image: An antibiogram showing a culture plate with different antibiotic discs and bacterial sensitivity (Photo courtesy of World Health Organization).
Image: An antibiogram showing a culture plate with different antibiotic discs and bacterial sensitivity (Photo courtesy of World Health Organization).
Misdiagnoses can lead to increased risk of incorrect antibiotic use, threatening patient outcomes and antimicrobial efficacy, while increasing healthcare costs.

All antimicrobial use establishes selective pressure that contributes to the relentless emergence of resistance in a broad array of pathogens and antimicrobial stewardship programs have been introduced to improve antimicrobial therapy, but in most cases improvements are modest.

Infectious disease specialists at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, (Minnesota, MN, USA) and their university colleagues, conducted a retrospective cohort study at their Medical Center (MVAMC), evaluating 500 inpatient cases to examine provider diagnoses, categorized as either correct, indeterminate, incorrect, or a sign or symptom consistent with an infectious disease rather than a specific syndrome or disease, and to determine whether the antimicrobial course prescribed was appropriate.

The scientists found that 95% of patients with an incorrect or indeterminate diagnosis, or with a symptom identified but no diagnoses made, were given inappropriate antibiotics. By comparison, only 38% of patients who received a correct diagnosis were incorrectly given antibiotics. The inappropriate use of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance, clinical failure, adverse drug events, and excessive costs. Additionally, they found that overall, only 58% of patients received a correct diagnosis, indicating that diagnostic errors were more prevalent in their study than in previous studies unrelated to antimicrobial use. The most common incorrect diagnoses identified by the specialists were pneumonia, cystitis, urinary tract infections, kidney infections and urosepsis.

The authors concluded that the impact of diagnostic accuracy on the appropriateness of antimicrobial therapy and they provide a detailed analysis of types and predictors of diagnostic errors and their relationship to types of inappropriate antimicrobial use. These findings suggest that more studies are needed to elucidate mechanisms of diagnostic errors related to antimicrobial prescribing. They also suggest that antimicrobial stewardship programs could increase their impact if they were designed to help providers make accurate initial diagnoses and to help providers know when antimicrobial therapy can be safely withheld.

Gregory A. Filice, MD, lead author of the study, said, “Diagnostic accuracy is integral to the safe use of antibiotics. In order to improve the use of antibiotics in healthcare, we must consider this challenge and look for tools and strategies that help clinicians decrease unnecessary and potentially harmful antibiotic use.” The study was published on May 18, 2015, in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology

Related Links:
.
Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System 


Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
One Step HbA1c Measuring System
GREENCARE A1c
Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Test
GPP-100 Anti-CCP Kit
New
Gold Member
Systemic Autoimmune Testing Assay
BioPlex 2200 ANA Screen with MDSS

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: MOF materials efficiently enrich cfDNA and cfRNA in blood through simple operational process (Photo courtesy of Science China Press)

Blood Circulating Nucleic Acid Enrichment Technique Enables Non-Invasive Liver Cancer Diagnosis

The ability to diagnose diseases early can significantly enhance the effectiveness of clinical treatments and improve survival rates. One promising approach for non-invasive early diagnosis is the use... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The low-cost portable device rapidly identifies chemotherapy patients at risk of sepsis (Photo courtesy of 52North Health)

POC Finger-Prick Blood Test Determines Risk of Neutropenic Sepsis in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy

Neutropenia, a decrease in neutrophils (a type of white blood cell crucial for fighting infections), is a frequent side effect of certain cancer treatments. This condition elevates the risk of infections,... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The OvaCis Rapid Test discriminates benign from malignant epithelial ovarian cysts (Photo courtesy of INEX)

Intra-Operative POC Device Distinguishes Between Benign and Malignant Ovarian Cysts within 15 Minutes

Ovarian cysts represent a significant health issue for women globally, with up to 10% experiencing this condition at some point in their lives. These cysts form when fluid collects within a thin membrane... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.