URINARY TRACT INFECTION IN THE ELDERLY: A POPULATION STUDY

Abstract

A study has been made of urinary infections in 466 old people living at home. Bacteriuria was present in 17 per cent of women and 6 per cent of men. Women with urinary infection had a significantly higher parity than those without infection, but there were no significant differences between the two in respect of urinary symptoms, previous operations on the urinary tract, blood pressure, renal function, haemoglobin, white cell count, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Comparison between subjects in the community with urinary infection and hospital patients showed that the latter had a higher frequency of infections with organisms other than Escherichia coli, particularly Proteus. Strains of E. coli isolated from hospital patients were considerably more often resistant to antibacterial agents than strains from infections in the community.