Utilizing Clinical Decision Support in the Treatment of Urinary Tract Infection across a Large Pediatric Primary Care Network

Introduction: Cystitis and pyelonephritis are common bacterial infections in infants and children, and initial treatment is usually empirical. Antimicrobial stewardship advocates using narrow-spectrum antibiotics with consideration for local resistance patterns. Narrow-spectrum antibiotic use is critical in addressing the global issue of bacterial antimicrobial resistance, associated with approximately 5 million annual deaths. Methods: The antimicrobial stewardship committee developed a guideline for diagnosing and managing urinary tract infections and distributed it to all primary care providers. A standardized order set provided clinical decision support regarding appropriate first-line antibiotic therapy. A chief complaint of dysuria prompted the use of the order set. Prescription rates for the most common antimicrobials were tracked on a control chart. Results: From March 2018 through March 2020, there were 4,506 antibiotic prescriptions for urinary tract infections. Utilization of the recommended first-line therapy, cephalexin, increased from 27.5% to 74.8%. Over the same period, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, no longer recommended due to high local resistance, decreased from 31.8% to 8.1%. Providers have maintained these prescribing patterns since the conclusion of the project. Conclusion: Using clinical decision support as a standardized order set can sustainably improve the use of first-line antimicrobials for treating pediatric urinary tract infections.