twofold: If a doctor misdiagnoses symptoms of aging as an infection, McGregor is unsure if the cost of treatment outweighs the precautionary benefits.
“We are worried about elderly patients being treated for UTI when in fact their symptoms are not due to an infection,” McGregor said. “Unnecessary use of antibiotics puts the patients at risk for drug-associated side effects without offering any potential benefits.”
The study showed that about 11 patients per 1,000 developed a UTI in the hospital. About 30 per 1,000 developed a UTI within a month of going home. As patients are experiencing shorter hospital stays than ever, improving the transition from hospital to home is essential to solving this problem, the researchers said.
“During transitions of care, health care providers need to have open lines of communication to ensure they have a complete picture of a patient’s medical history when providing care,” McGregor said.
Dr. Thomas Finucane, a geriatrician at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, explained why
