Urinary tract infection - chronic or recurrent

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Female urinary tract

Male urinary tract

Vesicoureteral reflux

Voiding cystourethrogram

Chronic urinary tract infection is a disorder involving repeated or prolonged bacterial infection of the bladder or lower urinary tract (urethra).

UTI - chronic or recurrent

Most urinary tract infections (UTI or cystitis) occur in the lower urinary tract, which includes the bladder and urethra. Cystitis is caused when the normally sterile lower urinary tract is infected by bacteria and becomes inflamed. Cystitis is very common.

Most of the time, symptoms of cystitis disappear within 24 - 48 hours after treatment begins. Chronic or recurrent urinary tract infection includes repeated episodes of cystitis (more than 2 in 6 months), or urinary tract infection that does not respond to the usual treatment or that lasts longer than 2 weeks.

In young girls, recurrent urinary tract infections may be an indication of a urinary tract abnormality (such as vesicoureteral reflux), and should be evaluated by a medical care provider. In boys, even a single urinary tract infection should be evaluated, because urinary tract infections in boys are extremely uncommon in the absence of urinary tract abnormalities.

The elderly population are at increased risk for developing cystitis due to incomplete emptying of the bladder associated with such conditions as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), prostatitis, and urethral strictures.

Also, lack of enough fluids, bowel incontinence, immobility or decreased mobility, having a Foley catheter, and placement in a nursing home, all put a person at increased risk for developing cystitis.

Review Date: 11/07/2005
Reviewed By: Cyrus Badshah, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University; Assistant Attending Physician, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases & Medical Director, Chest (TB) Clinic and Directly Observed Therapy Program, Harlem Hospital Center. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.