Antibiotic Stewardship Deficiency: Inappropriate Criteria for UTI Antibiotic Initiation
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that antibiotic initiation for urinary tract infections (UTIs) was based on CDC-approved criteria. The facility's Antibiotic Stewardship Policy, revised in April 2023, did not specify which symptom criteria should be used to determine if a resident's symptoms met the threshold for starting antibiotics. During an interview, the DON stated that nurses used an SBAR tool referencing McGeer's criteria to report UTI symptoms to providers. However, review of federal regulations indicated that Loeb minimum criteria should be used for antibiotic initiation, while McGeer criteria are intended for surveillance and tracking of infection rates. The lack of appropriate criteria in the policy and the use of McGeer criteria for antibiotic initiation led to the deficiency.