Impact of Covid-19 on UTI and antibiotic stewardship (T. Cai et al. on Uro 2022)

Several recent studies showed that, despite the overall percentage of bacterial co-infection among COVID-19 patients was low, the use of antibiotic was high. This motivated a team of urologists led by Prof. Tommaso Cai, from the Department of Urology, Santa Chiara Regional Hospital, to discuss the role of managing urinary tract infections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their analysis* reveals that the pandemic has changed the management of the UTI in a way that violates principles of antimicrobial stewardship. The authors remind all urologists and other physicians who manage patients affected by UTI about the importance of continued adherence to antimicrobial stewardship principles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some of their valuable recommendations:

• Avoid using antibiotics in COVID-19 patients without any sign and/or symptoms related to bacterial infections.

• The presence of fever in the absence of symptoms related to UTIs is not an indication for the use of antibiotics.

• In case of symptoms related to UTIs, empirical antimicrobial treatment in accordance with international guidelines is the most appropriate practice.

• Before prescription of antibiotic therapy, physicians must consider all possible collateral damages caused by antibiotics.

And last, but not least:

• Please don’t forget to consider the patient’s quality of life in association with antimicrobial stewardship in everyday clinical practice!

Have a look and learn more from the open access full paper https://doi.org/10.3390/uro2010008

*Cai T et al. The Management of Urinary Tract Infections during the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Do We Need to Know? Uro 2022, 2, 55–64.