title: Survey of public health laboratory protocols for reporting the antibiotic susceptibility of urinary isolates submitted from general practice.
abstract: This study set out to investigate the variation in laboratory reports of the antibiotic susceptibility of urinary isolates from specimens received from primary care. A questionnaire survey was conducted across Public Health laboratories in England and Wales, and 38 out of 47 questionnaires were returned. Seventy-nine percent of laboratories had community antibiotic guidelines for the management of urinary tract infections, and trimethoprim was the most common first-line antibiotic recommendation. Trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin were the most commonly tested antibiotics, and the oral cephalosporins were the most frequent second-line antibiotics tested. A wide variation in reporting was demonstrated, with 47% of laboratories reporting on the combination of trimethoprim, amoxycilline and an oral cephalosporin. In view of the increasing concern about antibiotic prescribing in the community, it may be useful to review local laboratory policies so that antibiotic susceptibility reporting is consistent with primary care antibiotic guidance.
authors.affiliation: Cardiff Public Health Laboratory, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff CF14 4XW. theanyen.tan@phls.wales.nhs.uk
authors.forename: T Y
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: McNulty
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000145:classification / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004739:England; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011634:Public Health; D011996:Records / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000652:urine*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology; D014852:Wales
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents