Urinary Tract Infections Flashcards
How is the urinary tract protected from infection?
A variety of defence mechanisms
What is the most important defence mechanism in protection of the urinary tract?
Regular flushing during voiding
What does flushing during voiding do?
Removes organisms from the distal urethra
What happens between voiding?
Organisms may ascend the urethra
What is the result of organisms ascending the urethra between voiding?
Infection is commoner in females, because the urethra is comparitavely short
What are the host factors in the pathogenesis of urinary disease?
- Shorter urethra
- Obstruction
- Neurological
- Ureteric reflux
What may a shorter urethra lead to?
More infections in females
What may cause urethral obstructions?
- Enlarged prostate
- Pregnancy
- Stones
- Tumours
What can neurological urinary disease cause?
- Incomplete emptying
- Residual urine
What can ureteric reflux cause?
Ascending infection from bladder, especially in children
What are the bacterial factors in the pathogenesis of urinary disease?
- Faecal flora
- Adhesion
- K Antigens
- Haemolysins
- Urease
What are faecal flora?
Potential urinary pathogens that colonise the periurethral area
What is required for bacterial adhesion?
Fimbriae and adhesins
What do fimbriae and adhesins allow in urinary infections?
Attachment to the urethral and bladder epithelium
What do K antigens do?
Allow some E. coli to resist host defences by producing polysaccharide capsule
What do haemolysins do?
Damage membranes and cause renal damage
What produces urease?
Some bacteria, e.g. proteus
What does urease do?
Breaks down urea for energy
How severe are most UTIs?
Most are mild
What may renal infections lead to?
Long term renal damage
What is the urinary tract a common source of?
Life threatening Gram -ve bacteraemia
What is the most common UTI?
Cystitis
Where does cystitis affect?
The lower tract
What may an upper UTI result from?
Haematogenous or ascending routes of infection
What are the types of lower UTI?
- Bacterial cystitis
- Abacterial cystitis
- Prostatitis
What does bacterial cystitis cause?
Frequency and dysuria, often with pyuria and haematuria
What does abacterial cystitis cause?
The same as bacterial, but without significant bacteriruia
What does prostatitis cause?
- Fever
- Dysuria
- Increased frequency
- Perineal and low back pain
What are the types of upper UTIs?
- Acute pyelonephritis
- Chronic interstitial nephritis
What does acute pyelonephritis cause?
The symptoms of cystitis plus fever and loin pain
What does chronic interstitial nephritis cause?
Renal impairment following chronic inflammation
What can cause asymptomatic UTIs?
Covert bacteriuria
How can covert bacteria causing UTIs be detected?
Only in culture
When is covert bacteria causing UTIs important?
In children and pregnancy
What are the most common pathogens in the community?
Gram -ve rods, particularly the enterobacteriaceae
What % of bacteria in the community are gram -ve rods?
80%
What are enterobactericeae known as?
Coliforms
What type of coliform is particularly common in the community?
E. Coli
Who may develop a UTI due to coagulase-negative staphylococci?
- Young women
- Hospitalised patients
Give an example of a coagulase-negative staphylococci
Staph. Saprophyticus
Why are young women and hospitalised patients at a higher risk of developing a UTI due to coagulase negative staphylococci?
Due to increased risk factors, e.g. catherisation
Why does cathertisation increase the risk of UTIs?
Biofilms
Who do uncomplicated UTIs develop in?
Healthy women
Who do complicated UTIs develop in?
- Pregnancy
- Treatment failure
- Suspected pyelonophritis
- Complications
- Males
- Paediatrics
Does urine need to be cultured in uncomplicated UTIs?
No
Why is there no need to culture urine in uncomplicated UTIs?
Infection is indicated by nitrite/leukocyte esterase dipstick testing
How can samples be collected in complicated UTIs?
- Mid-stream specimen
- Catheter samples
- Supra-pubic aspiration
- Adhesive bags
Why is a mid-stream sample collected when investigating complicated UTIs?
As we do not want to culture the urethras normal flora, so allow for a small amount of urine to be passed to ‘clear’ it before collecting the sample
When may an adhesive bag be used to collect a urine sample
In small children, who it is difficult to get samples in
What is the false positive rate of collecting a urine sample by placing an adhesive bag over genitals?
20%
Where is a catheter sample taken from?
Not from the bag, but by using a needle up a special tube in the catheter
What happens in supra-pubic aspiration?
A sample of bladder urine is obtained by using a needle through the abdominal wall
How commonly is supra-pubic aspiration used?
Rarely
Under what conditions do urine samples need to be transported?
- Kept at 4oC
- Small amount of boric acid in the collection tube
What is the purpose of the conditions that urine samples are kept under once collected?
It stops bacterial division to keep the sample representative of the collection time
What investigations are undertaken on urine samples?
- Turbidity
- Dipstick testing
What is meant by investigating turbidity?
Look to see if the sample is cloudy
What is cloudy urine indicative of?
A UTI
What is being looked for during dipstick testing?
- Leukocyte esterase
- Nitrite
- Haematuria
- Proteinuria
What does leukocyte esterase in urine indicate?
Presence of WBCs
What does nitrite indicate in urine?
The presence of Nitrate reducing bacteria
Can haematuria and proteinuria be used to diagnose a UTI?
No, because there are many causes of these symptoms
When is microscopy used to investigate UTIs?
- Kidney disease
- Suspected endocarditis
- Children under 6
- Schistosomiasis
- Suprapubic aspirates
- When requested
What may indiciate kidney disease in UTIs?
- Lion pain
- Nephritis
- Hypertension
- Toxaemia
- Renal colic
- Haematuria
- Renal TB
- Casts