A review of urinary tract infection in the elderly

Bacteriuria is much more common in the elderly than in younger individuals for a variety of reasons. Women have a greater prevalence than men, but the trend to increased prevalence with age in over 65 year olds is greater in men. The acquisition rate for bacteriuria in the elderly is extremely high but information about the sequelae of bacteriuria is scanty. However there is good evidence that bacteriuria is associated with increased mortality. In clinical practice, subjects found to be bacteriuric tend to be treated and there are a variety of problems in this, not only with regard to efficacy but also in suitability of antimicrobials by virtue of resistance patterns and side effects. A small comparative study shows that norfloxacin may be a suitable drug for use in the elderly, but further studies are required to confirm this in larger numbers of unselected patients. A transient but significant rise in serum creatinine was observed in subjects on cotrimoxazole.