A diagnostic algorithm for detection of urinary tract infections in hospitalized patients with bacteriuria: The "Triple F" approach supported by Procalcitonin and paired blood and urine cultures

PLoS One. 2020 Oct 22;15(10):e0240981. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240981. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

For acute medicine physicians, distinguishing between asymptomatic bacteriuria (ABU) and clinically relevant urinary tract infections (UTI) is challenging, resulting in overtreatment of ABU and under-recognition of urinary-source bacteraemia without genitourinary symptoms (USB). We conducted a retrospective analysis of ED encounters in a university hospital between October 2013 and September 2018 who met the following inclusion criteria: Suspected UTI with simultaneous collection of paired urinary cultures and blood cultures (PUB) and determination of Procalcitonin (PCT). We sought to develop a simple algorithm based on clinical signs and PCT for the management of suspected UTI. Individual patient presentations were retrospectively evaluated by a clinical "triple F" algorithm (F1 ="fever", F2 ="failure", F3 ="focus") supported by PCT and PUB. We identified 183 ED patients meeting the inclusion criteria. We introduced the term UTI with systemic involvement (SUTI) with three degrees of diagnostic certainty: bacteremic UTI (24.0%; 44/183), probable SUTI (14.2%; 26/183) and possible SUTI (27.9%; 51/183). In bacteremic UTI, half of patients (54.5%; 24/44) presented without genitourinary symptoms. Discordant bacteraemia was diagnosed in 16 patients (24.6% of all bacteremic patients). An alternative focus was identified in 67 patients, five patients presented with S. aureus bacteremia. 62 patients were diagnosed with possible UTI (n = 20) or ABU (n = 42). Using the proposed "triple F" algorithm, dichotomised PCT of < 0.25 pg/ml had a negative predictive value of 88.7% and 96.2% for bacteraemia und accordant bacteraemia respectively. The application of the algorithm to our cohort could have resulted in 33.3% reduction of BCs. Using the diagnostic categories "possible" or "probable" SUTI as a trigger for initiation of antimicrobial treatment would have reduced or streamlined antimicrobial use in 30.6% and 58.5% of cases, respectively. In conclusion, the "3F" algorithm supported by PCT and PUB is a promising diagnostic and antimicrobial stewardship tool.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Algorithms
  • Bacteremia / microbiology
  • Bacteriuria / diagnosis
  • Blood / microbiology*
  • Blood Culture / methods
  • Cohort Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Procalcitonin / metabolism*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification
  • Urinary Tract Infections / diagnosis*
  • Urinary Tract Infections / metabolism
  • Urine / microbiology*

Substances

  • Procalcitonin

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.