Deceptive Urine Studies and Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Geriatric Psychiatry: The Impact of Bundled Interventions.

Background: Indiscriminate orders for urinalysis and urine cultures (UC) drive inappropriate antibiotic treatment (Abx), especially in older adults with mental health disorders. Lack of data regarding the prevalence of and treatment for infections in acute geriatric psychiatric units (GPU) motivated us to initiate this project.

Aim: Our goal was to improve urine test utilization and reduce unnecessary Abx for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) and contaminated UC.

Communication in dementia care.

Dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative illness that affects a growing number of older adults in our country. We discuss ways to improve the management of persons with dementia within current healthcare models. Specifically, we argue that structured communication at regular intervals is essential for dementia care at all phases of illness.