Retrospective review of ceftriaxone versus levofloxacin for treatment of E. coli urinary tract infections

Background Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections. Options for initial treatment of pyelonephritis or UTI requiring hospitalization include levofloxacin (LVF) or extended-spectrum cephalosporins. Globally, uropathogenic Escherichia coli resistance rates to fluoroquinolones have increased in recent years. Objective To compare clinical outcomes of patients receiving ceftriaxone (CTX) to those who received LVF empirically for the treatment of E. coli UTI. Setting 433-bed community hospital in Lexington, KY. Methods Retrospective, single center, cohort study of adults with a urine culture positive for E. coli who received either IV LVF or CTX empirically for the treatment of UTI. Main outcome measure The primary outcome was hospital length of stay. Secondary outcomes include time to susceptible therapy (TsT), hospital cost, and susceptibility to empiric therapy. Results There was no statistically significant difference in LOS or hospital cost. Subgroup analysis compared patients that received concordant CTX treatment and patients that received discordant LVF treatment. Patients that received concordant CTX treatment had a nonsignificant shorter median LOS (4.16 vs. 6.34 days). Median hospital cost was lower ($4345 vs. $8462, p = 0.004) and median TsT was shorter (5.83 vs. 64.46 h, p < 0.001) in the concordant CTX group. Conclusion Choice of empiric antibiotic therapy should be based on local antibiogram data. For patients with UTI requiring hospitalization, CTX seems to be an effective empiric therapy for most patients. More data is required to examine the effectiveness of local and source specific antibiograms on clinical outcomes when guiding treatment of patients with UTI.