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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
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1 to 7 of 7 Research Studies DisplayedWretman CJ, Boynton MH, Preisser JS
Patient-level information underlying overdiagnosis of urinary tract infections in nursing homes: a discrete choice experiment.
The purpose of this study was to address the overdiagnosis of UTIs in nursing home residents as a significant public health threat by exploring which patient-level information was related with the overdiagnosis. The study found that the results of urinalyses and lower urinary tract status were most related with the overdiagnosis of UTIs.
AHRQ-funded; HS024519.
Citation: Wretman CJ, Boynton MH, Preisser JS .
Patient-level information underlying overdiagnosis of urinary tract infections in nursing homes: a discrete choice experiment.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023 Jul; 44(7):1151-54. doi: 10.1017/ice.2022.171..
Keywords: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Elderly
Kistler CE, Wretman Zimmerman, S S
Overdiagnosis of urinary tract infections by nursing home clinicians versus a clinical guideline.
The purpose of this study was to examine the concordance between clinicians' diagnosis of suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) with a clinical guideline treated as the gold standard, in order to inform overprescribing and antibiotic stewardship in nursing homes. The authors conducted a cross-sectional web-based survey of a national convenience sample of nursing-home clinicians, including a discrete choice experiment with 19 randomly selected scenarios of nursing-home residents with possible UTIs. Responses were compared to the guideline. The results indicated that nursing-home clinicians tend to over-diagnose UTI. The authors concluded that this necessitates systems-based interventions to augment clinical decisionmaking.
AHRQ-funded; HS024519.
Citation: Kistler CE, Wretman Zimmerman, S S .
Overdiagnosis of urinary tract infections by nursing home clinicians versus a clinical guideline.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2022 Apr;70(4):1070-81. doi: 10.1111/jgs.17638..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Guidelines, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Decision Making
Beeber AS, Kistler CE, Zimmerman S
Nurse decision-making for suspected urinary tract infections in nursing homes: potential targets to reduce antibiotic overuse.
This study’s goal was to determine what information is most important to registered nurses (RNs) decisions to call clinicians about suspected urinary tract infections (UTIs) in nursing home residents. An online survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 881 RNs recruited from a health care research panel. Clinical scenarios from 10 categories of resident characteristics were used: UTI risk, resident type, functional status, mental status, lower urinary tract status, body temperature, physical exam, urinalysis, antibiotic request, and goals of care. Participants were randomized into 2 deliberation conditions: self-paced (n=437) and forced deliberation (n=444). Painful or difficult urinary, obvious blood in urine and temperature at 101.5° had the highest odds of a RN calling a clinician by the forced-deliberation group. For the self-paced group, painful or difficult urination had the highest odds.
AHRQ-funded; HS024519.
Citation: Beeber AS, Kistler CE, Zimmerman S .
Nurse decision-making for suspected urinary tract infections in nursing homes: potential targets to reduce antibiotic overuse.
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2021 Jan;22(1):156-63. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2020.06.053..
Keywords: Urinary Tract Infection (UTI), Antibiotics, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Medication, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Decision Making, Diagnostic Safety and Quality
Sloane PD, Ward K, Weber DJ
Can sepsis be detected in the nursing home prior to the need for hospital transfer?
The purpose of this study was to determine whether and to what extent simple screening tools might identify nursing home (NH) residents who are at high risk of becoming septic. The authors concluded that NHs need better systems to monitor NH residents whose status is changing, and to present that information to medical providers in real time, either through rapid medical response programs or telemetry.
AHRQ-funded; HS022846.
Citation: Sloane PD, Ward K, Weber DJ .
Can sepsis be detected in the nursing home prior to the need for hospital transfer?
J Am Med Dir Assoc 2018 Jun;19(6):492-96.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2018.02.001..
Keywords: Sepsis, Nursing Homes, Long-Term Care, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Elderly
Zimmerman S, Cohen LW, Scales K
Pneumonia identification using nursing home records.
The researchers compared three established strategies for defining pneumonia using records from 1,119 residents across 16 nursing homes. They found that recorded diagnosis of pneumonia is a highly sensitive and pragmatic method to ascertain pneumonia in nursing homes, and is recommended for use in quality improvement and research.
AHRQ-funded; HS022298.
Citation: Zimmerman S, Cohen LW, Scales K .
Pneumonia identification using nursing home records.
Res Gerontol Nurs 2016 May 1;9(3):109-14. doi: 10.3928/19404921-20151218-01.
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Keywords: Antibiotics, Elderly, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Nursing Homes, Pneumonia
Furuno JP, Comer AC, Johnson JK
Using antibiograms to improve antibiotic prescribing in skilled nursing facilities.
The researchers describe the design and implementation of a skilled nursing facility (SNF) specific antibiogram to improve empirical antibiotic prescribing. They estimated the frequency of inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in 3 Maryland SNFs and measured the effectiveness of the antibiograms on antibiotic prescribing in 1 of the SNFs.
AHRQ-funded; 290200600020I
Citation: Furuno JP, Comer AC, Johnson JK .
Using antibiograms to improve antibiotic prescribing in skilled nursing facilities.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2014 Oct;35 Suppl 3:S56-61. doi: 10.1086/677818..
Keywords: Long-Term Care, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Nursing Homes, Diagnostic Safety and Quality
Sloane PD, Kistler C, Mitchell CM
Role of body temperature in diagnosing bacterial infection in nursing home residents.
The goals of this study were to provide empirically based guidance on the role of body temperature and fever in the clinical diagnosis of infections. When the researchers compared their empirically derived definitions of fever with those commonly used to justify the prescription of antibiotics for systemic infections, they concluded that the empirical, less-stringent definitions appeared to better fit the clinical realities of nursing home work.
AHRQ-funded; 290200600011I.
Citation: Sloane PD, Kistler C, Mitchell CM .
Role of body temperature in diagnosing bacterial infection in nursing home residents.
J Am Geriatr Soc 2014 Jan;62(1):135-40..
Keywords: Nursing Homes, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Decision Making