Improving a Urine Culture Callback Follow-up System in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Introduction: Delays in appropriate treatment and unnecessary antibiotic use for urinary tract infections (UTIs) increase the risk for serious adverse events and the potential for antibiotic resistance. The purposes of this quality improvement project were to decrease emergency department laboratory result follow-up time and increase the number of patients who are notified to stop taking an empiric antibiotic.

Method: Nine months of Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles were implemented in a pediatric emergency department and network of care sites.