Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome

Written by: Maren Leibowitz, MD (NUEM ‘23) Edited by: Nick Wleklinski, MD (NUEM ‘22)
Expert Commentary by: Zachary Schmitz, MD (NUEM '21)

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Expert Commentary

This is an awesome, focused review of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS). NMS is hard to diagnose because it's rare. There is no gold standard with respect to its definition, and it requires a medication history (which we typically don't do very well in the emergency department). A tricky cause of NMS is the removal of a dopamine agonist. For this reason, carbidopa/levodopa should never be discontinued during hospital admission - or ED boarding. [1]

Supportive care is more important than antidotal therapy during NMS management. The most acute cause of death from NMS is hyperthermia, which is induced both by D2 receptor antagonism leading to rigidity and impaired thermoregulation from the striatum and hypothalamus. Any life-threatening hyperthermia should be treated immediately with an ice bath.[2] Rigidity will lead to rhabdomyolysis with subsequent hyperkalemia and myoglobin-induced renal failure. Therefore, fluid resuscitation and maintenance are important. Profound immobility can precipitate DVT, so anticoagulation may be necessary.

In terms of pharmacotherapy, benzodiazepines are universally used. Dantrolene inhibits calcium-mediated muscle contraction to reduce muscle rigidity. However, it doesn't address the underlying central D2 antagonism, and its efficacy has only been shown in case reports. Bromocriptine acts more centrally as a dopamine agonist but should be used cautiously in patients with psychiatric diseases as it may exacerbate psychosis. Overall, benzodiazepine use and supportive care should get you through most cases of NMS, though additional therapies may be necessary in severe cases.

References

1. Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Delayed Administration and Contraindicated Drugs Place Hospitalized Parkinson’s Disease Patients at Risk. 12 March 2015. Accessed February 11, 2022.

2. Juurlink JN. Antipsychotics. In: Nelson LS, Howland M, Lewin NA, Smith SW, Goldfrank LR, Hoffman RS. eds. Goldfrank's Toxicologic Emergencies, 11e. Page 1037-1039. McGraw Hill; 2019. Accessed February 11, 2022.

Zachary Schmitz, MD

Toxicology Fellow

Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine

NYU Langone Health

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How To Cite This Post:

[Peer-Reviewed, Web Publication] Leibowitz, M. Wleklinski, N. (2022, May 9). Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome. [NUEM Blog. Expert Commentary by Schmitz, Z]. Retrieved from http://www.nuemblog.com/blog/neuroleptic-malignant-syndrome.

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End of Life Care in the ED

Written by: Savannah Vogel, MD (NUEM ‘24) Edited by: Logan Wedel, MD (NUEM ‘22)
Expert Commentary by: Matt Pirotte, MD

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References

“Discussing Goals of Care.” UpToDate, www.uptodate.com/contents/discussing-goals-of-care

Ganta, Niharika, et al. “SUPER: A New Framework for Goals of Care Conversation.” SGIM Forum, vol. 40, no. 3, 2017.

“Transitions/Goals of Care.” VitalTalk, 9 May 2019, www.vitaltalk.org/guides/transitionsgoals-of-care

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Expert Commentary

This is a nice review of the steps of what can be a very difficult conversation from Drs. Vogel and Wedel; I encourage emergency providers (especially residents) to run towards these situations aggressively and not expect other doctors to begin these challenging discussions.

While their piece is chock full of great tips, let me throw out a few of my own that might help you on your next shift.

1. “I am worried” is a great phrase to open the conversation. These are confusing topics for families and loved ones, our medical jargon is usually not fully suppressed and generally makes things even worse. While a family member can misunderstand a diagnosis or a prognosis, no one can misunderstand another person’s worry. “I am worried that your husband might not survive this illness” is very clear.

2. Be the first step. Remember that you might be the first step in what might be a series of conversations. When you are admitted to a patient who you think is in big trouble, have a frank honest conversation with the family but do not force them to make decisions. Then your conversation becomes part of your handoff to the inpatient team. The care of the patient will benefit from open communication upfront that minimizes false hope. Emergency doctors know intuitively what trajectory patients are on, a chronically ill elderly patient presenting with shock requiring pressors have an extremely high mortality risk and we should be clear with families about that.

3. Reassure and validate at every opportunity. Jim Adams gave me a great pearl when I was training at Northwestern which was that when you see worried first-time parents at 3am in the ED with a benign newborn issue you compliment, reassure, and validate. “This kid looks great, you guys are doing a great job.” Same thing with families. Simple statements like “it’s obvious that you care about them” and “I know you are trying to make the right decision and you’re asking great questions” will go a long way towards helping families process this information.

4. Humanize the body filled with tubes and lines. A few minutes to ask about the patient at the beginning of a tough conversation go a long way. What did they do for a living? What were their hobbies? Families usually end up smiling a little bit here, reminiscing, and telling you some really cool stuff. Sometimes you find yourself laughing with a family that came in the door sobbing. I find these few minutes spent getting to know your patient also helps to steer discussions towards what the patient would have wanted.

5. Anticipatory guidance is not just for well-child checks! After tough goals of care conversations especially those that end in decisions to move towards palliative care goals I always do 2 things. First I tell the decision-maker that they are making a good and loving decision, that it is the decision I would make for a member of my family, and to not let anyone tell them otherwise. Second, I insist that the family especially the decision-maker drink a bottle of water and eat a sandwich. We’ve all seen an end-of-life situation generate a second patient with dehydration mediated syncopal episode at the bedside, let’s try to prevent that.

I am forever grateful to my PD at NUEM Mike Gisondi for sparking my interest in this topic, it has been an unbelievable gift to me in my clinical practice. As I frequently say in the ED, you cannot avoid difficult goals of care conversations and then complain about the lack of beds in the hospital.

Matt Pirotte, MD

Program Director & Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

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How To Cite This Post:

[Peer-Reviewed, Web Publication] Vogel, S. Wedel, L. (2022, Feb 21). End of Life Care in the ED. [NUEM Blog. Expert Commentary by Pirotte, M]. Retrieved from http://www.nuemblog.com/blog/end-of-life-care

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Elderly Fallers

Written by: Nick Wleklinski, MD (NUEM ‘22) Edited by: Kumar Gandhi, MD, MPH (NUEM '20) Expert Commentary by: Scott Dresden, MD, MS

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Oh How the Older Adults Fall

Introduction:

Older adults (>65yrs old) fall. In 2006, older adult patients who fell made up approximately 2.1 million of ED visits totaling $6.1 billion in health care dollars [1]. Falls are the most common cause of unintentional injury for older folks, accounting for 13% of all ED visits from 2008-2010 [2]. These numbers are only increasing as our population ages and it is predicted to double by 2030 [3]. The injuries incurred wildly vary, but these patients tend to fall into two buckets: Major injury/organic etiology à admit vs. simple mechanical fall à Discharge.

Common injuries requiring hospitalization:

Falls resulting in major injury carry significant morbidity and mortality. Hip fractures lead to deterioration in function and carry ~27% mortality at 1 year [4]. Head injuries account for a significant amount of fall-related deaths, making CT brain imagining imperative in most fall patients. Add a CT C-spine as these injuries are more common in the older adults, the Canadian and Nexus C-spine rules don’t work well for these patients [5]. Additionally, rib fractures are common and require significant analgesia to prevent splinting and subsequent complications. Be sure to consider blunt cardiac injury and pulmonary contusion! Given that falls are a frequent cause of trauma in older adult patients, it is important to keep the effects of aging in mind when running the ABC’s (Table 1) [6].

Table 1: Further considerations for ABC’s in older adult trauma patients.

The tougher scenario: Those without any injuries:

Patients without any major injuries deserve more thought than simply ruling out organic etiologies (i.e. CVA, ACS, arrythmia, etc.) and major trauma. These patients are at high risk for subsequent falls and may even have underlying physiologic injuries. Using the term “mechanical fall” is risky as it can anchor providers into comfort. Therefore, having a more regimented approach can help better risk stratify these patients.

The fall itself:

• Where did it happen?

  • Those in nursing homes/institutional setting fall more frequently than those in the community (60% vs ~33%, respectively) [7]

  • Falls at home should trigger need for home safety evaluation

• Have you fallen before?

  • History tends to repeat itself, with nearly 50% of fallers falling again within 1 year [8]

• Witnessed vs Unwitnessed?

  • Collateral information can provide key details if a patient is a fall risk and requires further evaluation by physical therapy

• How long where you on the ground? [9, 10]

Figure 1: Increased time on the ground leads to worsening fall anxiety and increased risk of rhabdomyolysis and subsequent kidney injury

Evaluating the patient:

• Outside of the obvious (CVA, ACS, etc.), it is important to also consider other common etiologies:

  • Hypotension

  • Arrythmias

  • Infection (PNA, UTI, pressure ulcers)

  • Vestibular dysfunction (i.e. BPPV)

  • Anemia

    • Ask about melena as this is a commonly not investigated [11]

  • Delirium

  • Malignancy

•  Medications: Polypharmacy is a known issue in older adults, but there are certain medications to take note of. Antidepressants and antipsychotics are associated with the highest risk of falls while diuretics and narcotics didn’t have as much of a risk (Table 2) [12]. Additionally, who manages the meds and how are they organized at home?

Table 2: Common medications associated with falls

• What is their baseline? This is the meat and potatoes of the evaluation and where future risk factors can be identified and addressed.

  • How steady do they feel on their feet?

  • Decreased cognition (Dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc.) incurs increase fall risk [13]

  • Do they have arthritis/chronic pain?

    • Can result in unsteady gait from favoring certain part of body, increasing risk

  • Timed Up and Go Test:

    • A great way to evaluate lower extremity strength and balance (figure 2)

  • Visual and auditory impairment: Visual acuity should be addressed. Look at their eyewear as multifocal lenses increase fall risk [14].

  • Feet: check for neuropathy and ask about footwear.

  • Assist devices used for ambulation? Do they use these devices regularly and correctly?

  • Delirium screening

    • The Confusion Assessment Method is used in triage [15]

Figure 2: The Timed Up and Go Test.

Things we can do:

Although continuity is not generally part of the EM specialty, we can help address future fall risk for these patients who we discharge after their fall evaluation. Recommending supplements such as vitamin D and calcium are helpful for reducing risk for fall-related injuries [7]. Balance training through outpatient physical therapy referrals can further help reduce fall risk. Follow up is imperative and these patients should see their PMD or a geriatrician soon after their discharge from the ER to continue their fall evaluation.  

Conclusion:

While major trauma from falls is exciting and straight forward, it is important to give more thought to those older adult patients deemed to have a “mechanical fall”. Gathering information about the fall and determining the patient’s baseline can help stratify future risk. The incidence of falls is only going to increase as our population ages, so having a regimented approach to these patients is imperative.

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Expert Commentary

As was expertly described, falls in older adults lead to significant morbidity and mortality.  Unfortunately, in the ED they are often dismissed as “mechanical,” the injuries are treated, but the causes are never identified. The term mechanical fall is ambiguous and unhelpful and should not be used in the ED. Some mean that the fall was not a result of seizure or syncope, but it is not a clear term.  Additionally, it does not help with prognosis. There are no differences in adverse events at 6 months between “mechanical” and non-mechanical faller. For a great discussion of the Myth of the Mechanical Fall see Shan Liu’s presentation at IGNITE presentation at SAEM18 (https://saem-ondemand.echo360.org/media-player.aspx/5/13/431/1608).

Even if injuries are minor, patients often do poorly. Between 36% and 50% of patients have an adverse event such as a recurrent fall, emergency department revisit, or death within 1 year after a fall, including 25% who die within 1 year. As the CDC likes to remind us, every 20 minutes someone dies from a fall (https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/index.html).

So what do we do with this medical problem that has a 25% 1-year mortality? As with many problems in geriatrics, falls are a sentinel event, and deserve a sentinel response. It is our job to prevent the next fall. The Geriatric Emergency Department Guidelines provide a framework for a risk assessment after a fall. One might think that the cause of the fall is obvious (e.g. tripped over a crack in the sidewalk). However a thoughtful assessment begins by asking “if this patient was a health 20-year-old, would he or she have fallen? “ If the answer is no, then the assessment of the underlying cause of the fall should be more comprehensive and should include a thorough history of the fall and risk factors such as ability to perform Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), appropriate footwear, and medications. Physical exam should include orthostatic blood pressure, a head to toe exam even for patients with seemingly isolated injuries, a neurologic exam with special attention to neuropathy and proximal motor strength, and a safety assessment. Patients should be able to rise from the bed or chair, turn, and steadily ambulate in the ED before considering discharge (not while the nurse is handing the patient his or her discharge paperwork). For patients who are unable to safely ambulate, consideration of an assist device such as a cane or walker should be given, physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) consultation, and possibly hospital admission.  All patients who are admitted after a fall should be admitted by PT and OT. Additionally, patients who fell should have home safety assessments which may be arranged through occupational therapy.

In addition to the GED guidelines, the CDC has developed the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) program. This program includes an algorithm for fall risk screening, assessment and intervention. For screening they recommend patients answer the Stay Independent screening (a 12 question tool), however if the patient is in the ED for a fall, this step can be omitted because the patient has already declared themselves as high risk for falls.  To evaluate gait, strength, and balance, the Timed Up & Go, 30-Second Chair Stand, or 4-Stage Balance Test are recommended. In addition, to the assessments mentioned previously (medications, orthostatics), asking about potential hazards such as throw rugs or slippery floors, and a visual acuity check are advised. Once risk factors are identified they should be addressed through physical therapy, exercise of fall prevention programs, medication optimization, home safety evaluation, discussion with outpatient clinicians regarding orthostatic hypotension, referral to a podiatrist for proper footwear, recommending a vitamin D supplement. Finally, ensuring close and enduring followup is important. Consider a referral to a geriatrician if the patient doesn’t already see one.

Scott Dresden, MD, MS

Associated Professor of Emergency Medicine

Director of Geriatric Emergency Department Innovations (GEDI)

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

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How To Cite This Post:

[Peer-Reviewed, Web Publication] Wleklinski, N. Gandhi, G. (2020, Nov 23). Elderly Fallers. [NUEM Blog. Expert Commentary by Dresden, D]. Retrieved from http://www.nuemblog.com/blog/elderly-falls.

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References

1. Owens, P.L., et al., Emergency Department Visits for Injurious Falls among the Elderly, 2006: Statistical Brief #80, in Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Briefs. 2006, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US): Rockville (MD).

2. Sapiro, A.L., et al., Rapid recombination mapping for high-throughput genetic screens in Drosophila. G3 (Bethesda), 2013. 3(12): p. 2313-9.

3. Foundation, C.f.D.C.a.P.a.T.M.C. The State of Aging and Health in America 2007. 2007  [cited 2019.

4. Cenzer, I.S., et al., One-Year Mortality After Hip Fracture: Development and Validation of a Prognostic Index. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2016. 64(9): p. 1863-8.

5. Goode, T., et al., Evaluation of cervical spine fracture in the elderly: can we trust our physical examination? Am Surg, 2014. 80(2): p. 182-4.

6. Carpenter, C.R., et al., Major trauma in the older patient: Evolving trauma care beyond management of bumps and bruises. Emerg Med Australas, 2017. 29(4): p. 450-455.

7. Nagaraj, G., et al., Avoiding anchoring bias by moving beyond 'mechanical falls' in geriatric emergency medicine. Emerg Med Australas, 2018. 30(6): p. 843-850.

8. Liu, S.W., et al., Frequency of ED revisits and death among older adults after a fall. Am J Emerg Med, 2015. 33(8): p. 1012-8.

9. Austin, N., et al., Fear of falling in older women: a longitudinal study of incidence, persistence, and predictors. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2007. 55(10): p. 1598-603.

10. Deshpande, N., et al., Activity restriction induced by fear of falling and objective and subjective measures of physical function: a prospective cohort study. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2008. 56(4): p. 615-20.

11. Tirrell, G., et al., Evaluation of older adult patients with falls in the emergency department: discordance with national guidelines. Acad Emerg Med, 2015. 22(4): p. 461-7.

12. Woolcott, J.C., et al., Meta-analysis of the impact of 9 medication classes on falls in elderly persons. Arch Intern Med, 2009. 169(21): p. 1952-60.

13. Muir, S.W., K. Gopaul, and M.M. Montero Odasso, The role of cognitive impairment in fall risk among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Age Ageing, 2012. 41(3): p. 299-308.

14. Lord, S.R., J. Dayhew, and A. Howland, Multifocal glasses impair edge-contrast sensitivity and depth perception and increase the risk of falls in older people. J Am Geriatr Soc, 2002. 50(11): p. 1760-6.

15. Han, J.H., et al., Diagnosing delirium in older emergency department patients: validity and reliability of the delirium triage screen and the brief confusion assessment method. Ann Emerg Med, 2013. 62(5): p. 457-465.

The UTI that isn’t: Why a common condition presents such a diagnostic challenge.

Written by: Ashley Amick, MD (NUEM Alum ‘18) Edited by: Michael Macias, MD (NUEM Alum ‘17) Expert commentary by: Alexander Lo, MD

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This is Part 2 of the blog post on the diagnosis of UTIs. Check out Part 1 here

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the most common commonly diagnosed infection in the United States.  However, a high incidence of diagnoses does not render those diagnoses appropriate.  Increasing evidence suggests that this common condition poses a serious diagnostic challenge.  Erroneously identified UTIs frequently result in inappropriate treatment, as well as delays in management of the true underlying pathology.  In an era where ever more terrifying multi-drug resistant organisms continue to emerge, increasing emphasis is placed on evidence-based practice and antimicrobial stewardship.   In the acute care setting, where information is limited and time is scarce, guideline-based management can aid the Emergency Physician (EP) in improving both individual and community-level outcomes.

Despite increased awareness of UTI’s role in antimicrobial stewardship and cost-effective care, leading interest groups have failed to create a consensus definition of UTI.  (For an interesting experiment ask your colleagues what they consider diagnostic criteria for UTI, and prepare for wide variability).   Generally speaking, UTI is a diagnosis arrived at by two core features: 1) laboratory testing suggestive of infection, of which urine culture is considered gold standard; and 2) clinical symptomatology. 

Herein lies a major quandary for the Emergency Physician EP – culture data is not available in a timely fashion, and determining what defines a “symptom” of a UTI is, at best, elusive.  In the absence of culture data, the EP must rely upon a urinalysis (UA), with or without microscopy, as a surrogate.  Certain elements of the UA are thought to be particularly predictive of a true infection, including leukocyte esterase, nitrite, white blood cells, red blood cells, and bacteria.  However, when considered either alone or in combination, there is variable sensitivity and specificity of nearly all elements of a dipstick or UA.  Even when both leukocyte esterase and nitrite are present, the sensitivity and specificity is too poor to definitively diagnose or exclude a UTI.

Part of the poor predictive performance of UAs may be attributed to poor collection techniques and the presence of chronic bactiuria.  Obtaining a clean-catch sample in the emergency department setting can be a formidable challenge.  Studies suggest less than 10% of ED patients use proper midstream clean-catch techniques.  Concerningly, 50% of patients with a contaminated urine sample receive inappropriate intervention and antibiotics.  Proper education on sampling techniques as well as and in and out catheterization when appropriate, should be routinely employed. 

Despite adequate sample collection, UA interpretation is frequently confounded by the presence of asymptomatic bactiuria (ASB).  While definitions vary, the Infectious Disease Societies of America (IDSA) define ASB as isolation of a specified quantitative count of bacteria (105 cfu/ml from clean catch specimens) in a patient without symptoms or signs referable to urinary infection, such as frequency, urgency, dysuria, or suprapubic pain.  ASB is common in the geriatric population, and prevalence increase with age and in institutionalized patients.  ASB, like UTI, will frequently yield a UA positive for bacteria, LE, nitrate, and pyuria, therefore rending the UA of little use in differentiating between these two conditions. Given these considerations, the clinical symptoms become the most important factor in making the correct diagnosis.

When considering the diagnosis of UTI, beginning with an assessment of patient signs and symptoms seems not only rational, but intuitive. However, in the ever-increasing drive for efficiency, UAs are frequently drawn indiscriminately to expedite work-up.  In a recent study of patient treated for UTI in an ED population, 2/3 of patients diagnosed with a UTI had a UA collected as part of an order set, often before being evaluated by a clinician.  It was also found that antibiotics were administered inappropriately in 59% of those patients, due to lack of clinical signs or symptoms to substantiate a diagnosis of UTI.  Going about the diagnostic work-up in a backwards way invites not only anchoring bias when a UA is positive, but places pressure on the clinician to treat a UTI that isn’t.  Clinicians require discipline in looking beyond an abnormal UA, and work to objectively determine if the criteria for UTI are met based on symptomatology – or better yet – order UAs only when symptoms warrant further investigation.

Determining what constitutes a symptom – at least a symptom that should prompt a urinalysis – remains controversial.  According to the CDC and SHEA guidelines, symptoms consistent with a UTI include fever and lower genitourinary symptoms such as dysuria, urgency, frequency, suprapubic pain, and costovertebral angle discomfort.  Noteworthy is the omission of falls, altered mentation, and general malaise in the elderly in the absence of an indwelling catheter.  (See the related post: ‘delirium as a symptom of UTI, physiology or pseudoaxiom?’ for further discussion)

According to the most contemporary guidelines, these nonspecific symptoms without localizing symptoms or fever, are no longer sufficient to support the diagnosis of UTI.  This represents a shift in not only traditional clinical teaching, but a departure from prior guidelines.  This change results from a realization that both asymptomatic bactiuria and altered mentation are prevalent in the geriatric population, and there is a paucity of evidence supporting a causal link between these findings.  Despite these new recommendations, altered mentation, confusion, weakness, and falls are among the most frequent reasons for obtaining a UA in the geriatric population.  In a population where ASB is prevalent, and procuring a clean urine sample is challenging, geriatric patients are at high risk of morbidity from inappropriate antibiotic therapy and unnecessary testing.  Perhaps more concerning is that with a presumptive diagnosis of UTI, little thought may be devoted to other potential diagnoses – at least until the patient fails to improve.

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Expert Commentary 

Over 50 million U.S. adults > 65 years of age (“older adults”), account for over 20 million Emergency Departments (ED) visits each year [1].  Many of these patients have unmet and complex underlying medical needs that are often understated by their chief complaints. The tempting application of traditional ‘one complaint; one algorithm’ approach taught to many emergency physicians, may often result in long-term, downstream, adverse outcomes.  One of those relevant to the accompanying blog, is the traditional “if grandma is delirious, look for and treat the UTI” doctrine.  A review of the literature proves that the evidence linking UTI’s to delirium in older adults is lacking [2]. Many older adults are bacteriuric; most do NOT have to be treated [3].  The delirium is not a reason to treat bacteriuria [4].  It is also just as likely that it is the other comorbid conditions causing the delirium, since 75% of older adults have two or more comorbid chronic conditions [5]. many of which have the potential to cause delirium at any time[6].   The patient may likely require admission for the delirium, but a more comprehensive investigation into its etiology is more helpful than treating the easy target of a contaminated urine sample

Alexander S Lo, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Northwestern University 

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How to Cite this Post

[Peer-Reviewed, Web Publication]  Amick A, Macias M (2018, November 26). The UTI that isn’t: Why a common condition presents such a diagnostic challenge [NUEM Blog. Expert Commentary by Lo A]. Retrieved from http://www.nuemblog.com/blog/uti-part2

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Resources

1. Little, P., et al. "Dipsticks and diagnostic algorithms in urinary tract infection: development and validation, randomised trial, economic analysis, observational cohort and qualitative study." Health Technol Assess 13.19 (2009): 1-73.

2. Van Nostrand, Joy D., Alan D. Junkins, and Roberta K. Bartholdi. "Poor predictive ability of urinalysis and microscopic examination to detect urinary tract infection." American journal of clinical pathology 113.5 (2000): 709-713.

3. Schulz, Lucas, et al. "Top Ten Myths Regarding the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections." The Journal of emergency medicine (2016).

4. Bent, Stephen, and Sanjay Saint. "The optimal use of diagnostic testing in women with acute uncomplicated cystitis." The American journal of medicine 113.1 (2002): 20-28.

5. Klausing, Benjamin T., et al. "The influence of contaminated urine cultures in inpatient and emergency department settings." American Journal of Infection Control (2016).

6. Gupta, Kalpana, et al. "International clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of acute uncomplicated cystitis and pyelonephritis in women: a 2010 update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the European Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases." Clinical infectious diseases 52.5 (2011): e103-e120.

7. Nicolle, Lindsay E., et al. "Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in adults." Clinical Infectious Diseases (2005): 643-654.

8. Detweiler, Keri, Daniel Mayers, and Sophie G. Fletcher. "Bacteruria and Urinary Tract Infections in the Elderly." Urologic Clinics of North America 42.4 (2015): 561-568.

9. Kiyatkin, Dmitry, Edward Bessman, and Robin McKenzie. "Impact of antibiotic choices made in the emergency department on appropriateness of antibiotic treatment of urinary tract infections in hospitalized patients." Journal of hospital medicine (2015).

10. Horan, Teresa C., Mary Andrus, and Margaret A. Dudeck. "CDC/NHSN surveillance definition of health care–associated infection and criteria for specific types of infections in the acute care setting." American journal of infection control 36.5 (2008): 309-332.