Diagnostic strategies for urinary tract infections in French general practice.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to describe the diagnostic management procedures for detection of urinary tract infections in general practice and their correlated factors.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

We analyzed data from the ECOGEN study on urinary tract infections, collected in France between November 2011 and April 2012. This national cross-sectional study was carried out in general practices. Data was coded according to the International Classification of Primary Care.

RESULTS

A total of 340 consultations or home visits were held for urinary tract infections. The five most frequent diagnostic procedures were (in descending order) clinical examination (67.6%), urine cytobacteriological examination (UCBE) (47.9%), urine dipstick test (15.6%), blood test (8.5%), and imaging (6.5%). No urine dipstick test or UCBE was performed in 43% of cases. Factors correlated with diagnostic procedures were age and gender of patients, annual number of consultations held by family physicians, and duration of consultation.

CONCLUSION

Family physicians did not comply with guidelines on diagnostic management for detection of urinary tract infections. We hypothesized that this non-compliance could be due to the family physicians' environment and characteristics, and to clinical practice guidelines.