The Impact of De-implementing Urine Dipsticks for Diagnosis of UTIs in Hospitals

The goal of this interrupted time-series analysis is to evaluate the impact of the de-implementation of urine dipsticks as a diagnostic tool for urinary tract infections (UTIs) in hospitalized patients in the North Denmark Region. The main question it aims to answer is: How does de-implementation of urine dipsticks affect the diagnosis and management of UTIs and related disorders? Specifically, does it change the following parameters: * Number and severity of UTI infections (lower and upper UTI, non-severe and severe) * Antibiotic prescription (overall, antibiotic classes, administration routes, duration, dosages) * Number of urine cultures and number of positive urine cultures * Risks of admission to intensive care units and 30-day mortality * Risk of drug toxicity * Length of hospital stay * Risk of admission to intensive care unit * 30-day risk of readmission after discharge * 6-month risks of Clostridioides difficile enterocolitis and de novo antimicrobial resistance in cultures obtained during routine clinical care. Researchers hypothesize that de-implementing urine dipsticks will lead to a reduced frequency of diagnosed cystitis, reduced antibiotic use, and fewer urine cultures without negatively affecting patient mortality or readmission risk. Researchers will compare the outcomes before and after the discontinuation of urine dipsticks across hospitals in the North Denmark Region. Furthermore, results will be compared to another Danish administrative healthcare region where dipsticks are still in use as well as urine culture data from the primary sector in the North Denmark Region. Since this is a registry-based observational study utilizing data from the electronic patient record system in the North Denmark Region, no direct contact will be made with participants.

Inclusion Criteria: * All patients admitted to emergency rooms (≥18 years) from 2019 and forward. Exclusion Criteria: * Patients directly admitted to an inpatient unit without first visiting an emergency room are excluded from the study. * For the primary analysis, only the first admission will be included; subsequent admissions will be excluded.