ORIGINAL ARTICLE   Open access

Italian Journal of Emergency Medicine 2023 December;12(3):142-5

DOI: 10.23736/S2532-1285.23.00194-5

Copyright © 2023 THE AUTHORS

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lingua: Inglese

Factors allowing the management of patients with acute urinary tract infection in the short stay unit: a single-center retrospective study

Jacopo D. GIAMELLO ^{1, 2} ✉, Chiara RISSO ², Gianpiero MARTINI ², Alessia POGGI ², Andrea SCIOLLA ², Giuseppe LAURIA ²

¹ School of Emergency Medicine, University of Turin, Turin, Italy; ² Department of Emergency Medicine, Santa Croce e Carle Hospital, Cuneo, Italy

BACKGROUND: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a frequent cause of emergency department (ED) attendance. Short Stay Units (SSUs) could be a proper setting to manage these conditions for low-risk patients.
METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective study including patients with ED diagnosis of UTI extending beyond the bladder and subsequent ward admission during a one-year period. The main outcome of the study is the length of hospitalization greater than 3 days, to identify the characteristics of patients with particularly short hospitalization who could therefore have benefited from brief observation in SSU rather than hospitalization. The incidence of infection recurrence at 3 months in the group of patients with short hospitalization was assessed.
RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-six patients were included in the study (59% female, median age 61 [42;77] years). 54 (20.3%) patients were hospitalized for less than 3 days. In patients with short LOS there was no higher incidence of recurrence at 3 months. Independent predictors of longer hospitalization were age ≥65 years, higher neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, and higher C-reactive protein.
CONCLUSIONS: In younger UTIs patients with not markedly altered inflammation indices, a brief observation in the SSU could be an adequate management setting.

KEY WORDS: Urinary tract infections; Clinical observation units; Emergency service, hospital