Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

Excerpt

Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) are 2 episodes of acute bacterial cystitis, associated symptoms within the last 6 months, or 3 episodes within the previous year. Recurrent UTIs are more common in women. The cost of treating UTIs in the United States is about 3.5 billion dollars annually. A UTI is traditionally defined as more than 100,000 colony-forming units (CFU/mL) of urine associated with typical acute symptoms of dysuria, urgency, frequency, or suprapubic pain. See Image. Urinary Tract Infection. However, more than 100 CFUs of Escherichia coli with specific acute urinary symptoms have a positive predictive value of about 90%, indicating that a lower CFU threshold is more appropriate in diagnosing simple and recurrent UTIs.