Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common cause of health care utilization in the United States. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic accelerated virtual care for UTIs. This retrospective cohort study analyzes more than 1.2 million encounters for UTI based on diagnosis codes, examining temporal trends focusing on virtual compared with in-person encounters, antibiotic dispensation rates, and culture-confirmed UTIs. From 2015 to 2022, UTI encounters increased by 325.9%, with a majority occurring at virtual visits. The rate of UTI encounters per 1,000 adult female patients increased by 241.6%. Antibiotic dispensation rates increased, surpassing the rise in rate of positive urine cultures, suggesting increasing use of empiric antibiotics. Our findings underscore the importance of balancing telemedicine's accessibility with maintaining antibiotic stewardship and highlight the need for updated guidelines.

中文翻译：

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女性尿路感染管理的趋势。


尿路感染 （UTI） 是美国医疗保健利用的常见原因。2019 年冠状病毒病 （COVID-19） 大流行加速了 UTI 的虚拟护理。这项回顾性队列研究根据诊断代码分析了超过 120 万次 UTI 就诊，检查了侧重于虚拟与面对面就诊的时间趋势、抗生素分配率和培养确认的 UTI。从 2015 年到 2022 年，UTI 就诊增加了 325.9%，其中大部分发生在虚拟就诊中。每 1,000 名成年女性患者的 UTI 发生率增加了 241.6%。抗生素分配率增加，超过了尿培养阳性率的增加，表明经验性抗生素的使用增加。我们的研究结果强调了平衡远程医疗的可及性与维持抗生素管理的重要性，并强调了更新指南的必要性。