Patients who had a certain drug-resistant urinary tract infection were more likely to have an infection relapse within a week than patients with nonresistant infections, a study published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology found.
The researchers reviewed records for 151 adult patients whose urine cultures were positive for antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, a large family of bacteria linked to UTIs. They compared those patients with 151 similar patients who had nonresistant forms of the bacteria. Patients with the resistant bacteria were more likely to experience worse clinical outcomes than the control group.
The study also found over half of all 302 patients did not receive an appropriate antibiotic within 48 hours of the urine culture, while those with a resistant form of the bacteria were most likely to get the incorrect antibiotic at the outset.
"UTIs are one of the most common bacterial infections we see in the outpatient setting, which makes the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance a significant problem," said lead study author Judith Anesi, MD.
When resistant organisms are found in urine tests, patients should be closely monitored for a longer duration, and patients at risk for resistant bacteria should have urine tested, the study authors said.
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