Monday, November 4, 2013

UTI's in the Elderly

Treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria is not appropriate for the following populations: women (premenopausal, nonpregnant), diabetics, the elderly, nursing home residents, or patients with spinal cord injury or indwelling urethral catheters.
 
"Bacteriuria in a population sample of women: 24-year follow-up study. Results from the prospective population-based study of women in Gothenburg, Sweden"
Bengtsson C, Bengtsson U, Björkelund C, Lincoln K, Sigurdsson JA
Scand J Urol Nephrol. 1998;32(4):284.
 
So don't screen these women in the first place, and if you find bacteria, don't treat because it doesn't reduce recurrence, perhaps recurrence with a symptomatic strain. It may also lead to antibiotic resistance.

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