User:Mr. Ibrahem/Urinary tract infection
Medical condition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Urinary tract infection | |
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Other names | Acute cystitis, simple cystitis, bladder infection, symptomatic bacteriuria |
Multiple white cells seen in the urine of a person with a urinary tract infection using microscopy | |
Specialty | Infectious disease |
Symptoms | Pain with urination, frequent urination, feeling the need to urinate despite having an empty bladder[1] |
Causes | Most often Escherichia coli[2] |
Risk factors | Female anatomy, sexual intercourse, diabetes, obesity, family history[2] |
Diagnostic method | Based on symptoms, urine culture[3][4] |
Differential diagnosis | Vulvovaginitis, urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, interstitial cystitis[5] |
Treatment | Antibiotics (nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole)[6] |
Frequency | 152 million (2015)[7] |
Deaths | 196,500 (2015)[8] |
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that affects part of the urinary tract.[1] When it affects the lower urinary tract it is known as a bladder infection (cystitis) and when it affects the upper urinary tract it is known as a kidney infection (pyelonephritis).[9] Symptoms from a lower urinary tract infection include pain with urination, frequent urination, and feeling the need to urinate despite having an empty bladder.[1] Symptoms of a kidney infection include fever and flank pain usually in addition to the symptoms of a lower UTI.[9] Rarely the urine may appear bloody.[6] In the very old and the very young, symptoms may be vague or non-specific.[1][10]
The most common cause of infection is Escherichia coli, though other bacteria or fungi may sometimes be the cause.[2] Risk factors include female anatomy, sexual intercourse, diabetes, obesity, and family history.[2] Although sexual intercourse is a risk factor, UTIs are not classified as sexually transmitted infections (STIs).[11] Kidney infection, if it occurs, usually follows a bladder infection but may also result from a blood-borne infection.[12] Diagnosis in young healthy women can be based on symptoms alone.[4][13] In those with vague symptoms, diagnosis can be difficult because bacteria may be present without there being an infection.[14] In complicated cases or if treatment fails, a urine culture may be useful.[3]
In uncomplicated cases, treatment is with a short course of antibiotics such as nitrofurantoin, fosfomycin, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.[6][13] Resistance to many of the antibiotics used to treat this condition is increasing.[1] In complicated cases, a longer course or intravenous antibiotics may be needed.[6] If symptoms do not improve in two or three days, further diagnostic testing may be needed.[3] Phenazopyridine may help with symptoms.[1] In those who have bacteria or white blood cells in their urine but have no symptoms, antibiotics are generally not needed,[15] although during pregnancy is an exception.[16] In those with frequent infections, a short course of antibiotics may be taken as soon as symptoms begin or long-term antibiotics may be used as a preventive measure.[17]
About 150 million people develop a urinary tract infection in a given year.[2] They are more common in women than men.[6] In women, they are the most common form of bacterial infection.[18] Up to 10% of women have a urinary tract infection in a given year, and half of women have at least one infection at some point in their lifetime.[4][6] They occur most frequently between the ages of 16 and 35 years.[6] Recurrences are common.[6] Urinary tract infections have been described since ancient times with the first documented description in the Ebers Papyrus dated to c. 1550 BC.[19]