HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Harris, N. Articles by Tincello, D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Harris, N. Articles by Tincello, D.

Recurrent urinary tract infection in gynaecological practice

^1. Department of Urogynaecology, Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK
^2. Department of Urogynaecology, Leicester General Hospital.
^3. Department of Urogynaecology, Leicester General Hospital.
^4. Reproductive Science Section, Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE2 7LX, UK Email: dgt4{at}le.ac.uk (corresponding author)

Key content:

• Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the result of interaction between host defences and bacterial pathogenic mechanisms.
  
• Recurrent UTI can be associated with urinary tract abnormalities.
  
• Urinary tract imaging is useful in a minority of women to identify pathological, structural or functional abnormalities.
  
• Adequate fluid intake, topical estrogens and prophylactic antibiotics can be useful in the management of recurrent infections.
  
• Symptoms often reappear despite adequate treatment.
  

Learning objectives:

• To understand the pathogenesis of recurrent UTI in women.
  
• To appreciate the value and limitations of urinary tract imaging.
  
• To develop an appropriate management strategy.
  

Ethical issues:

• Women with dipstick haematuria, but without bacteriological confirmation of a UTI, should be referred for urological evaluation.
  
• There is no evidence that the risk of altering antibiotic resistance patterns through the use of prophylactic antibiotics outweighs the advantage of reducing UTI in susceptible individuals.
  

Please cite this article as: Harris N, Teo R, Mayne C, Tincello D. Recurrent urinary tract infection in gynaecological practice. The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist 2008;10:17–21.

Keywords midstream specimen of urine (MSSU) / prophylactic antibiotics / recurrent urinary tract infection / topical estrogens