Cost-effective management of complicated urinary tract infections

Complicated urinary tract infection (UTI), which often requires hospitalization or prolongs a hospital stay, presents numerous diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Implementation of effective antimicrobial treatment is vital because of the risk of adverse sequelae due to persistence of infection, relapse, or reinfection. Further, the increasing resistance of common uropathogens, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter species, can complicate the therapeutic outcome. Economic factors also mandate cost-effective therapy. The costs of managing adverse sequelae have placed a significant liability on an already overburdened health care system. Estimates for prolonged hospitalization due to nosocomial UTI are reported as high as $2 billion a year in the United States. When parenteral rather than oral antimicrobial therapy is used, additional health care costs approximate $1000 per day per patient. Given the resistance to commonly used medications and the risk of serious adverse sequelae, clinicians are seeking more appropriate therapy. New oral antimicrobial agents now permit outpatient management of complicated UTIs that formerly required hospitalization for prolonged treatment. Currently, quinolones are recommended as first-line agents for complicated UTI. Reviews of pharmacokinetics, antimicrobial activity, efficacy, and safety of these drugs have noted equipotence or superiority to other antimicrobials, including trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. When used appropriately, quinolones provide effective and safe therapy for complicated UTI and offer in vitro efficacy against a broad range of pathogens.