Clinical therapeutics
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Clinical therapeutics · Sep 2015
Observational StudyAssessment of Outpatient and Inpatient Antibiotic Treatment Patterns and Health Care Costs of Patients with Complicated Urinary Tract Infections.
The goal of this study was to examine treatment patterns, utilization, and costs for complicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) requiring inpatient/emergency department (ED) and outpatient care. ⋯ Relative to outpatient-treated patients, inpatient/ED-treated patients were older, sicker, had higher costs across treatment periods, and had reduced antibiotic use at a lower rate during the 90-day follow-up. Strategies to avoid preventable inpatient/ED visits may help reduce costs in the management of outpatients with complicated UTIs.