INTRODUCTION: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is responsible for 15% of all community-prescribed antibiotics. The effects of the pandemic on UTI treatment are largely unknown. We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 and telemedicine on empiric UTI treatment in women, hypothesizing that increased telemedicine during the pandemic would increase empiric UTI treatment.METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of treatment patterns of female patients aged 18-65 using ICD-10 codes for acute cystitis with and without hematuria during the first 6 months of the pandemic versus the preceding 6 months. Our primary outcome was empiric antibiotic treatment, defined by treatment based on clinical picture with/without pending urine testing. To reach 80% power, we included 222 patients.
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