Reducing Antibiotic Duration for Uncomplicated UTI in the Pediatric Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND: Short-duration (3-5 days) antibiotic treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infection (uUTI) in children >24 months of age is equivalent to longer-duration antibiotic treatment, with added benefits of antibiotic stewardship. At our pediatric emergency department (ED), 13% of 5- to 18-year-old patients discharged with uUTI received ≤5 days of antibiotics. We aimed to increase short-duration prescriptions in patients with uUTI from 13% to >50% over 12 months. METHODS: This quality improvement project was conducted from January 2021 to August 2022. Complicated UTI was excluded. Interventions included education, practice feedback, and electronic health record changes. The outcome measure, the proportion of children treated with a short antibiotic duration, was studied by using p-charts. Antibiotic days saved were calculated. Revisits with UTI within 14 days of confirmed uUTI treated with short-duration antibiotics (balancing measure) were analyzed by using Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: In 1292 (n = 363 baseline, 929 post-intervention) eligible patients treated for uUTI, shorter antibiotic duration increased from 13% to 91%. We met our 50% aim within 2 months, with continued improvement leading to an additional centerline shift. Consequently, 2619 antibiotic days were saved. Two of 334 (0.6%) patients returned (P = NS) within 14 days of the index visit with a culture-positive uUTI. CONCLUSIONS: By using education, feedback, and electronic health record changes, we decreased antibiotic duration in children discharged from the ED for uUTI without a significant increase in return visits with UTI. These interventions can be expanded to wider age groups and other outpatient settings.

Distinguishing Incomplete Kawasaki and Nonsevere Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.

OBJECTIVES: Characterizing inflammatory syndromes during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic was complicated by recognition of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), contemporaneous with episodes of Kawasaki disease. We hypothesized a substantial overlap between the 2 and assessed the performance of an MIS-C likelihood score in differentiating inpatients with nonsevere MIS-C from prepandemic incomplete Kawasaki disease (iKD) without coronary involvement. METHODS: A retrospective review of inpatient records was conducted; the nonsevere MIS-C cohort (March 2020-February 2021) met the 2023 definition for MIS-C; the iKD cohort (January 2018-January 2019) met the American Heart Association criteria for iKD without coronary involvement. We applied the likelihood score to both cohorts. We estimated the percent of children with iKD who could have met the clinical criteria of the MIS-C, had they presented in 2023. RESULTS: The 68 children in the nonsevere MIS-C cohort were older (8 vs 4 years, P < .001) than the 28 children in the iKD cohort. Those in the nonsevere MIS-C cohort had higher rates of thrombocytopenia (P < .001) and lymphopenia (P = .021); those in the iKD cohort had higher rates of pyuria (P < .001). Twenty-four (86%) children in the iKD cohort met the 2023 MIS-C definition. The scoring system correctly predicted 71% to 74% children with their respective clinical diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Though there was considerable clinical overlap, thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, and the absence of pyuria were the most helpful parameters to distinguish children with nonsevere MIS-C from those with iKD.