Selective Reporting for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing and GPs' Prescribing of Broad-spectrum Antibiotics in Women With E. Coli UTIs

Selective Reporting for Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing and GPs' Prescribing of Broad-spectrum Antibiotics in Women With E. Coli UTIs

The control of antibiotic resistance requires a reduction in inappropriate prescriptions of broad-spectrum antibiotics (amoxillin-clavulanate (AMC), fluoroquinolones (FQ), third-generation cephalosporins (C3G)), particularly for urinary tract infections treated in primary care. Several studies have reported the positive impact of antibiotic susceptibility testing performed on urine cultures on the appropriate use of antibiotics.

The "selective reporting for antibiotic susceptibility testing ", defined as the restriction of the list of antibiotics mentioned in the report according to the antibiotic resistance profile, would allow, according to observational studies, a reduction of 25 to 70% of the initial prescriptions of broad-spectrum antibiotics and a 20% rate of antibiotic de-escalation (=reduction of the antibacterial spectrum of an antibiotic treatment after re-evaluation).

The objective is to assess the impact of disseminating a selective reporting for antibiotic susceptibility testing on the dispensing of broad-spectrum antibiotics prescribed by general practitioners (GPs) for E. coli positive urine cultures in adult women, compared to the dissemination of a standard antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients :

• women ≥18 years of age,
• affiliated with the CPAM of Loire Atlantique (44) or Maine et Loire (49),
• with a urine culture: i) analyzed by LabOuest, ii) positive for E. coli, and iii) associated with a prescription for antibiotics by a general practitioner in the period 7 days before and 14 days after the antibiotic susceptibility testing.

General practitioners :

• practicing in primary care Loire Atlantique (44) and/or Maine et Loire (49),
• having been consulted by at least 100 different patients in the 12 months prior to baseline,
• having received at least one urine culture result for a woman ≥18 years of age analyzed by LabOuest over the 12 months prior to baseline.

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients :

• hospitalized in the period 7 days before and 14 days after antibiotic susceptibility testing (data on antibiotics dispensed in healthcare institutions are not accessible via DCIR data),
• with reimbursements for antibiotics prescribed by physicians in different practices over the period 7 days before and 14 days after antibiotic susceptibility testing.

General practitioners :

• with a special practice (acupuncture, allergology, angiology).
• not receiving any urine culture results analyzed by a laboratory of the LabOuest network in the year following the intervention