[Urinary tract infections in the elderly]

[Urinary tract infections in older adults: Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibilities in a southern area of Spain]

INTRODUCTION

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most prevalent diseases in clinical practice and increases in patients older than 65years compared to middle-aged patients. In order to improve empirical treatment, the etiology and antibiotic sensitivity profile of the most frequent bacteria that produce UTIs in older people have been studied.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study in which isolated micro-organisms with significant counts in urine samples from patients with UTI were included. The global etiology and according to sex were analyzed. Only one urine sample per patient and UTI episode was considered.

RESULTS

Regarding the origin of the sample, the highest proportion was in primary care with 4853 urine cultures (51.6% of positive urine cultures), followed by hospital care with 3565 urine cultures (46.4% of positive urine cultures) and 94 urine cultures in nursing homes elderly (2% positive urine cultures). Escherichia coli was the most isolated micro-organism both in the population as a whole (54%) and in each of the analyzed groups. It was observed that E.coli isolated in women was significantly higher than in men (χ², P=.044). Their sensitivity was: 80% fosfomycin and 75% amoxicillin-clavulanic acid.

CONCLUSIONS

E.coli continues to be the most frequently isolated micro-organism in UTI. Empirical treatment of UTI in our environment should include fosfomycin or amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, regardless of the health care unit and gender.

Geriatric Patients and Symptomatic Urinary Tract Infections: Analysis of Bacterial Range and Resistance Rates at a 3rd Level of Care Hospital in Germany

BACKGROUND

Increasing life expectancy and demographic change result in a rising number of geriatric patients, but knowledge about geriatric treatment options and adapted diagnostic pathways is low. Simultaneously, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common in older people and often difficult to treat.

METHODS

Patients with a UTI at a urological outpatient department between January 01, 2016, and December 31, 2017, were retrospectively identified in the data system. One thousand one hundred fifteen patients with "N30" and "N39" diagnosis were included in this study, 965 of which were under the age of 75 (group 1) and 150 of which 75 years or older (group 2).

RESULTS

Of 150 patients in group 2, 41.6% had nitrite-positive urine (vs. 20.9% in group 1, p < 0.05 in χ2 testing). Patients in group 2 often had indwelling devices (30.3 vs. 6.0%, p < 0.05) and presented a sterile urine culture in only 20.7% (vs. 40.1% in group 1). Regarding calculated antibiotic therapy, there were significant differences concerning prescription of ciprofloxacin (34.9 vs. 25%, p < 0.05) and fosfomycin (12.7 vs. 40.7%, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

UTI in geriatric patients should be treated differently than in younger patients because antibiotic resistance is high. The group with indwelling devices is complex. Individual strategies for geriatric patients should be considered.

Rebalancing the unbalanced aged immune system - A special focus on zinc

Nowadays, aging is understood as a dynamic and multifaceted dysregulation process that spares almost no human organ or cell. The immune system being among the most affected, it has been shown predominantly that its integrity determines the tightrope walk between the difference of escaping or suffering from age-related diseases. Next to drug-based anti-aging strategies, micronutrient intervention may represent an emerging but less radical way to slow immune aging. While a sufficient supply of a variety of micronutrients is undeniably important, adequate intake of the trace element zinc appears to tower over others in terms of reaching old age. Inconveniently, zinc deficiency prevalence among the elderly is high, which in turn contributes to increased susceptibility to infection, decreased anti-tumor immunity as well as attenuated response to vaccination. Driven by this research, this review aims to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the various rebalancing capabilities of zinc in the unbalanced immune system of the elderly. This includes an in-depth and cell type-centered discussion on the role of zinc in immunosenescence and inflammaging. We further address upcoming translational aspects e.g. how zinc deficiency promotes the flourishing of certain pathogenic taxa of the gut microbiome and how zinc supply counteracts such alterations in a manner that may contribute to longevity. In the light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we also briefly review current knowledge on the interdependency between age, zinc status, and respiratory infections. Based on two concrete examples and considering the latest findings in the field we conclude our remarks by outlining tremendous parallels between suboptimal zinc status and accelerated aging on the one hand and an optimized zinc status and successful aging on the other hand.

[Bladder catheterization in the hospitalized elderly people]

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of patients with bladder catheterization in a geriatrics service and to analyze the factors associated with the use of urinary catheterization in hospitalized elderly people.

MATERIAL AND METHOD

This descriptive and retrospective study (January to December 2019) included all the patients admitted to a geriatric service, with bladder catheterization during their hospital admission. Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected.

RESULTS

In 2019, 10.20% of the patients admitted required urinary catheters. Most of these patients were males (60.6%), with an average age of 86.5 years (SD: 8.65). 43.4% of the urinary catheters that were placed temporarily were indicated in the geriatric unit, 28.9% in another medical service and 26.3% in the emergency department. The median of days with a urinary catheter was 7.5 days. The most common reason to indicate a urinary catheter was acute urinary retention (AUR) (67.7%). At hospital discharge, 22.3% of the patients needed to continue with a urinary catheter at home, without needing it prior to admission.

CONCLUSIONS

In our study, a high percentage of bladder catheterization was needed during the hospitalization, the most common cause being AUR. The average use (in days) of urinary catheters is high, with the consequent risk of nosocomial urinary tract infections. It is necessary to improve the prescribing habits of urinary catheterization and its early withdrawal through specific educational efforts and avoiding their inappropriate use.

Monitoring functional status using a wearable real-time locating technology

Sensor technologies enable real-time, continuous, and objective monitoring of activity and functioning in later life. In long-term care, timely assessment of functional status is needed to prevent falls and other acute events. However, the electronic forms and paper and pencil tools currently used are time-consuming and conducted too infrequently (e.g., every 6 months) to provide the sensitivity and specificity required. Staff are also unable to detect subtle changes in functioning through observation alone. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of a wearable real-time locating system that utilizes ultra wideband radio technology to continuously and objectively measure activity and aspects of functional status. This paper discusses the associated conceptualization and development of the scoring algorithms, raw data transformation, use of traditional paper and pencil tools and electronic health record data to validate sensor data, and other tips for those interested in this type of wearable sensor technology.

Urogenital tuberculosis, the cause of ineffective antibacterial therapy for urinary tract infections

Background

Urogenital tuberculosis (UGTB) is one of the great imitators; it is commonly masked by urinary tract infections (UTIs). We aimed to estimate how many UGTB patients were among patients with a long history of UTIs.

Material and Methods

A total of 244 patients with recurrent UTIs and suspected UGTB were enrolled in an open, noncomparative prospective study. Their urine and expressed prostate secretion or ejaculate were cultured (a total of 1446 samples), and 421 isolates with growth of ⩾10⁴ colony-forming units (CFU)/ml were investigated for drug resistance. Typically, UGTB diagnosis is made by individual case.

Results

All 244 patients had a long history of recurrent UTIs (on average, 7.9 ± 3.4 years); all received at least five courses of antibacterial therapy without good result. UGTB was diagnosed in 63 (25.8%), and in 41 of these (65.1%), there was comorbidity of UTI and UGTB. Of 1446 samples investigated, 421 (29.1%) were positive, and 1025 were negative. Escherichia coli was found in 57.3% of gram-negative microflora and in 29.0% only among all uropathogens. E. coli was resistant to amoxicillin/clavulanate in 51.5-57.1%, to cefotaxime in 50.0-52.0%, to gentamycin in 33.3-59.5%, to ciprofloxacin in 63.2-66.7%, to levofloxacin in 54.8-45.2%, and to nitrofurantoin in 23.5-20.8% in 2015 and 2016, respectively. If, in 2015, all isolates of E. coli were susceptible to imipenem, in 2016, 7.1% of strains were resistant to this antibiotic. Level of drug-resistance was higher in 2016, excluding only levofloxacin and nitrofurantoin.

Conclusions

Total prevalence of UGTB among UTI patients with poor results of antibacterial therapy was 25.8%. Comorbidity of UTI and UGTB was diagnosed in 65.1%.