Urinary infection in the elderly

Abstract Introduction Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most frequent infections. In the elderly, they have multiple comorbidities. The objective of this work is to describe the clinical and microbiological epidemiology of elderly persons admitted for UTIs and to evaluate the suitability of empirical treatments and their implications regarding mortality. Material and methods An observational study was conducted during 2013–2015 in 4 public hospitals, with patients older than 65 years who were admitted to the Internal Medicine service with a microbiological diagnosis of UTI. Cases of asymptomatic bacteriuria were excluded. In-hospital mortality was analyzed. Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis was carried out. Results A total of 349 episodes were selected, with a mean age of 82 ± 11 years, 51% female. Mortality was 10.3% and was associated with age, dementia and sepsis and septic shock ( p Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) (53.6%), Klebsiella spp. (8.7%) and Enterococcus spp. (6.6%). E. coli and Klebsiella spp. with extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (13% of the total isolated) were associated with the previous use of antibiotics, community care treatment and a permanent urinary catheter ( p Conclusions In the elderly, UTIs show a high mortality. Empirical treatment is often inadequate and may be associated with increased mortality.