PMID: 15227931Jul 2, 2004Paper

Urinary tract infections. Does the smell really tell?

Journal of Gerontological Nursing
Susan MidthunGlenda Lindseth

Abstract

Asymptomatic bacteriuria is considered a transient and benign condition in the geriatric population. Before a diagnosis of a urinary tract infection (UTI) can be made, symptoms and significant bacteriuria must be present. One of these symptoms is malodorous urine. Other symptoms of a UTI, typical in the younger population, have been found to be absent or misleading in the older adult population. Though early detection of UTIs improves outcomes, unnecessary laboratory tests are costly and time-consuming, and may encourage inappropriate antibiotic therapy. The purpose of this study was to determine if urine odor is an accurate predictor of a UTI in the older adult incontinent nursing home population. Ninety-seven recently wet incontinence pads of residents in six Midwestern nursing homes were evaluated for odor within 1 hour of voiding. These results were compared to microscopy and culture results of clean-catch urine samples from these individuals. Defining a UTI as either bacteriuria or bacteriuria and pyuria, using urine odor to identify a UTI resulted in error in one third of cases. Results of this study indicate smell of urine in incontinence pads may be an absent or misleading symptom for UTIs in elderly nursing home reside...Continue Reading

References

Jul 7, 1979·British Medical Journal·R N Grüneberg, M J Bendall
Mar 15, 1992·American Journal of Epidemiology·M M JacksonM Jones
Jul 1, 1992·Annals of Emergency Medicine·P B FontanarosaR B Thomson
Sep 14, 1991·Lancet·T AhmadS Pedler
Sep 1, 1991·Journal of the American Geriatrics Society·S C CastleT T Yoshikawa
Feb 1, 1991·American Journal of Infection Control·A McGeerA E Simor
Mar 1, 1991·The Medical Clinics of North America·C C Johnson
Mar 1, 1991·The Medical Clinics of North America·J S Baldassarre, D Kaye
Nov 10, 1989·JAMA : the Journal of the American Medical Association·J G Ouslander
Jun 1, 1988·American Journal of Infection Control·J S GarnerJ M Hughes
Dec 1, 1988·The Nurse Practitioner·J M Millette-Petit
May 1, 1987·The American Journal of Emergency Medicine·A D Kornblut
Aug 1, 1986·European Journal of Clinical Microbiology·D TsukayamaP Peterson
Mar 1, 1986·Annals of Emergency Medicine·H W Meislin
Jul 1, 1987·Age and Ageing·P BermanR A Fox
Dec 1, 1986·The American Journal of Medicine·J A BosciaD Kaye
Jan 1, 1987·The Medical Clinics of North America·L J Karafin, M E Coll
May 30, 1974·The New England Journal of Medicine·S L Gorbach, J G Bartlett
Jul 28, 1983·The American Journal of Medicine·W E Stamm
Jul 1, 1980·Journal of the American Geriatrics Society·A L EspositoM S Drapkin
May 1, 1982·Southern Medical Journal·R GleckmanW Warren
Mar 1, 1995·Journal of the American Geriatrics Society·J G OuslanderJ F Schnelle
Mar 19, 1994·Lancet·S NakarM Weingarten
May 1, 1994·The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy·L E Nicolle
Apr 25, 1994·Archives of Internal Medicine·S BrooksJ R Kues
Feb 1, 1993·American Journal of Clinical Pathology·W C Winn
Dec 1, 1996·The Journal of Trauma·S M Kavic, S M Cohn
Jul 1, 1997·Journal of Clinical Pathology·A EdwardsK Verrier Jones
Jun 5, 1998·Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology : the Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America·P W Smith
Feb 24, 2001·Journal of the American Geriatrics Society·D W BentleyT T Yoshikawa
Sep 1, 1964·Journal of Clinical Pathology·W BRUMFITT, A PERCIVAL
Sep 1, 1990·World Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology·A B Olayemi, F I Opaleye

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 16, 2007·International Urogynecology Journal and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction·Megan O SchimpfChristine A LaSala
Oct 24, 2015·American Journal of Infection Control·Karen JonesMohamad G Fakih
Jun 7, 2011·Clinics in Geriatric Medicine·Gwendolen T BuhrHeidi K White
Feb 1, 2017·Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology : the Official Journal of the Society of Hospital Epidemiologists of America·Philip D SloaneSheryl Zimmerman
Nov 29, 2012·The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal·Tjalling W de Vries, Afke H Brandenburg

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.