Can Electronic Clinical Decision Support Systems Improve the Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infections? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Leila S. Hojat*, Elie A. Saade*, Adrian V. Hernandez, Curtis J. Donskey, Abhishek Deshpande

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a commonly misdiagnosed infectious syndrome. Diagnostic stewardship interventions can reduce rates of asymptomatic bacteriuria treatment but are often labor intensive, and thus an automated means of reducing unnecessary urine testing is preferred. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we sought to identify studies describing interventions utilizing clinical decision support (CDS) to optimize UTI diagnosis and to characterize the effectiveness of these interventions. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive electronic search and manual reference list review for peer-reviewed articles published before July 2, 2021. Publications describing an intervention intending to enhance UTI diagnosis via CDS were included. The primary outcome was urine culture test rate. Results: The electronic search identified 5013 studies for screening. After screening and full-text review, 9 studies met criteria for inclusion, and a manual reference list review identified 5 additional studies, yielding a total of 14 studies included in the systematic review. The most common CDS intervention was urinalysis with reflex to urine culture based on prespecified urinalysis parameters. All 9 studies that provided statistical comparisons reported a decreased urine culture rate postintervention, 8 of which were statistically significant. A meta-analysis including 4 studies identified a pooled urine culture incidence rate ratio of 0.56 (95% confidence interval,. 52-.60) favoring the postintervention versus preintervention group. Conclusions: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, CDS appeared to be effective in decreasing urine culture rates. Prospective trials are needed to confirm these findings and to evaluate their impact on antimicrobial prescribing, patient-relevant outcomes, and potential adverse effects.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberofac691
JournalOpen Forum Infectious Diseases
Volume10
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2023

Keywords

  • decision support
  • diagnostic stewardship
  • electronic health record
  • urinary tract infection
  • urine culture

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Can Electronic Clinical Decision Support Systems Improve the Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infections? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this