Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Lower Urinary Tract Infections in an Outpatient Population

Abstract

Introduction: The management of urinary tract infections is almost always empirical, which generates a series of problems in the daily consultation.

Objective: To characterize, clinically and microbiologically, uncomplicated lower urinary tract infections in patients of a primary level clinic.

Methods: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out. Bacterial identification in urine culture was performed by established methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the Kirby-Bauer technique. The statistical software SPSS (version 26) was used, with the chi squared test and multivariate discriminant analysis. Odds ratios were also calculated with the Epi-Info program.

Results: A total of 270 patients were included, with a 39.3% frequency of positive cultures and Escherichia coli as the predominant species. In addition, 31.3% of Gram-positive bacteria were identified. There was statistical significance between urinary tract infection and factors such as sex or previous urinary tract infection in women. One result was 100% of ampicillin-resistant strains. In general, high percentages of resistance were obtained for the tested antimicrobials.

Conclusions: Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated species; however, there is a number of microorganisms implicated in genital tract diseases, such as Gardnerella vaginalis, which appear to be involved in the etiology of urinary tract infections. Risk factors such as biological sex and previous infections in women were identified. High percentages of resistance were obtained for the tested antimicrobials.