Antibiotics versus no treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria in residents of aged care facilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis (original) (raw)

British Journal of General Practice

BackgroundAsymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is common among residents of residential aged care facilities (RACFs). However, differentiating between an established urinary tract infection and ASB in older adults is difficult. As a result, the overuse of dipstick urinalysis, as well as the subsequent initiation of antibiotics, is common in RACFs.AimTo find, appraise, and synthesise studies that reported the effectiveness, harms, and adverse events associated with antibiotic treatment for older patients with ASB residing in RACFs.Design and settingA systematic review using standard Cochrane methods of RACF residents with ASB using antibiotics against placebo, or no treatment.MethodThree electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL), clinical trial registries, and forward–backward reference checks of included studies were searched.ResultsNine randomised controlled trials, comprising 1391 participants were included; two of which used a placebo comparator, and the remaining seven used n...