Panagar, Joanna M.. Effectiveness of urinary tract infection self-assessment tool-ACSS in adult female population at primary care outpatient clinic in New Jersey. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-jr63-y418
DescriptionProject Purpose: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most commonly occurring infection in the outpatient care setting that requires antibiotic treatment. Postmenopausal females have a substantially higher risk of developing UTIs due to hormonal changes occurring in the body. This study will be conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Acute Cystitis Symptom Score (ACSS) questionnaire in self symptom-reporting by the patient. The study will utilize information on UTI symptoms and treatment guidelines to provide education and promote patient self-efficacy in reporting UTI symptoms in a standardized manner using the ACSS tool.
Methodology: This pilot study used a pre- and post-test design to assess the effectiveness of symptom-reporting by utilizing the ACSS in the outpatient care setting. Differences in the typical, differential, and quality of life scores pre- and post-treatment were assessed using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum test, with significance set at p-value <0.05.
Results: Among the participants, there were significant reductions in symptoms at initial and follow-up visits. Most of the participants had either no symptoms or mild symptoms at follow-up as compared to the initial visits when they had mild and moderate symptoms. Also, most of the respondents had either no or mild affectation of their quality of life at the follow-up visits compared to the initial visit when they reported moderate, and extreme affectation.
Implications for Practice:The ACSS tool could be used in the primary care setting to standardize the reporting of the UTI symptoms by the female patients.