To:
From:
Date:
Re: ____________ Community Collaborative on Antimicrobial Stewardship
New guidelines for management of asymptomatic bacteriuria
____________________(facility name) has been working with several community partners
(representatives from hospitals, home health agencies, physician offices, and other long term care
facilities) to begin to address the issue of unnecessary antibiotic use. Under the direction of
__________(sponsoring hospital) infectious disease specialist _____________(participating ID
physician), a new guideline for the treatment of asymptomatic bacteriurias in residents of long term
care facilities has been developed and ____________________ (facility name) will be implementing it
effective __________ (date). A copy is enclosed for your convenience.
The guideline addresses treatment of residents with non-specific and non-localizing signs and symptoms
of UTI. It calls for fluids to be pushed (unless the resident is on a fluid restriction) for 72 hours rather
than immediate placement on antibiotics. If there is a change in condition, you will be notified as you
are now by nursing staff. The resident will be reassessed each shift, and you will be notified with any
additional change in condition.
We are in the process of educating staff, patients and families, and we will be closely tracking our
infectious disease data to show how we have made an impact. Thank you in advance for your support
of this initiative. Please to not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has stated that antimicrobial resistance is one of the world’s most
pressing public health threats. Widespread overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics is fueling resistance
that compromises the effectiveness of patient treatment. Overuse of antibiotics also increases the
problems of drug side effects, allergic reactions, diarrheal infections caused by Clostridium difficile, or even
death. Considering the lack of new antimicrobial agents in the drug development pipeline, improving
antibiotic use is a public health imperative. For more information on the CDC’s efforts to address this issue,
go to http://www.cdc.gov/getsmart/