Diagnostic errors that lead to inappropriate antimicrobial use.

Gregory A. Filice; Dimitri M. Drekonja; Joseph R. Thurn; Galen M. Hamann; Bobbie T. Masoud; James R. Johnson

Study

Diagnostic errors that lead to inappropriate antimicrobial use.

June 3, 2015

Filice GA, Drekonja DM, Thurn JR, et al. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2015;36(8):949-56.

View more articles from the same authors.

Overuse of antibiotics is a major factor in the development of certain types of health care–associated infections. This retrospective study found that unnecessary antibiotic use was often a result of diagnostic error, particularly in patients who were empirically treated for urinary tract infections without clear diagnostic evidence. The results of this study imply that addressing diagnostic uncertainty should be a component of antimicrobial stewardship programs.

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