A 2011 WHO report found that ITUs contributed to more than 8 million consultations and more than 1 million hospitalizations, with an overall annual cost of more than $ 1 billion.
Now, a new study has found that doctors have given the wrong antibiotics to nearly half of the 670,400 people diagnosed with UTI. In addition, more than three quarters of these women were prescribed antibiotics for longer than clinically necessary. Long duration of treatment – exceeding clinical guidelines – was more common in rural than urban areas, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
“Inadequate antibiotic prescriptions for uncomplicated urinary tract infections are prevalent and have serious consequences for the patient and society,” said lead author Anne Mobley Butler, assistant professor of medicine and surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis, in a statement.
“The accumulation of evidence suggests that patients do better when we switch from broad-spectrum to narrow-spectrum and longer-term antibiotics,” Butler said.
“Promoting optimal use of antimicrobials benefits the patient and society by preventing preventable adverse events, disrupting the microbiome and antibiotic-resistant infections,” she added.
Insurance data analysis
The researchers analyzed insurance claims for women between the ages of 18 and 44 who were diagnosed with a common form of urinary tract infection between April 2011 and June 2015.
The antibiotic prescriptions given to these women were compared to current clinical guidelines. The researchers found that about 47% of prescriptions were made for antibiotics that did not meet medical recommendations. Women living in rural areas were more likely to be instructed to take that antibiotic for “inadequately long-term therapy than urban patients”, the study found, although 76% of all women in the study had been taking antibiotics for a long time .
It is possible, the study said, that rural doctors are not as aware of current antibiotic treatment guidelines, or may have given their patients more antibiotics because of the distance needed to travel to and from the clinic if symptoms persist.
Symptoms and causes
Urinary tract infections can happen to both men and women of any age, but they are more common in women and girls, who have a shorter urethra and closer to the rectum, making it easier for bacteria to infect the urinary tract.
Other risk factors include a history of UTIs, menopause, pregnancy, use of spermicides that can alter vaginal bacteria and an enlarged prostate.
Age is also a factor – many children contract urinary tract infections during training to use the potty because they don’t know in which direction to clean – while the elderly are at high risk because they have more trouble emptying their bladder completely as they get older.
Symptoms of UTI include frequent, painful urination or burns, bloody urine, low stomach cramps and the need to urinate even after you are gone.
Kidney infection is another type of UTI, which can be more serious if left untreated. Symptoms include fever, chills, nausea or vomiting and low back pain.
The symptoms of a urinary tract infection can mimic those of many sexually transmitted diseases, so a urine test may be needed to identify the cause. Since UTIs are caused by bacteria, they are treated with antibiotics.
What to do
The CDC says that you can prevent urinary tract infections by drinking plenty of water and urinating frequently, taking showers instead of bathing, limiting the use of showers, sprays or powders in the vaginal area, and making sure you urinate after each sexual activity.
Girls should be taught to wipe from front to back during potty training.