European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

DEALING WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS-A COMMUNITY HEALTH PERSPECTIVE:

*Dr. D. Mahesh Rahul MBBS and Dr. R. Sri Sruthi MBBS

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most prevalent diseases affecting people of all age groups i.e. from neonate to geriatric age group. This is a problem that has got a big share in health care costs taking both community acquired and hospital acquired urinary tract infections into consideration. The present study aims to throw light on the age wise prevalence of urinary tract infections, possible steps to be explained to the patient to avoid contracting UTI, early diagnosis, planning a workup if necessary and treatment of urinary tract infections in our scenario. Materials and Methods: The present study is a retrospective analysis of culture results of urine samples, conducted at various laboratories in and around ELURU and VIJAYAWADA, ANDHRA PRADESH for suspected UTI in patients visiting outpatient departments and hospitalised patients of various hospitals. The age & sex of patients, the organism isolated and also the antimicrobial susceptibility & resistance profiles, were collected from the laboratory registers using a standard data collection form. Results: The overall prevalence of UTI was 34.56% of which 68.78% were females and 31.22% were males. E.coli (64.77%) was the commonest isolate causing UTI, especially in community acquired infections followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (22.40%). The most effective antimicrobial agents in our study were Meropenem, Gentamicin, Nitrofurantoin and Cotrimoxazole. Antibiotics being emperically used, for example, Fluoroquinolones, Amoxicillin and Cephalosporins were often found to be very less effective, especially in Health Care Assosciated UTI. Cotrimoxazole, probably because of its decreased use in clinical practice now a days has started regaining its potential against uropathogens. Conclusion: UTI, which is a very common illness, has to be understood in a holistic manner, to help the patients in a better way.

Keywords: Urinary tract infection, Prevalence, Uropathogens.