Urinary Tract Infections: A Common Issue in Geriatric Healthcare

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Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infections in the Geriatric Healthcare Setting
A urinary tract infection (UTI) is defined as an infection of the kidneys, ureters, or bladder caused by microorganisms that either ascend from the urethra (95% of cases) or that spread to the kidney from the bloodstream (5%). About 7 million American patients visit health care providers each year because of Urinary tract infections. These infections commonly occur in otherwise healthy women, men with prostatic hypertrophy or bladder outlet obstruction, children with congenital anatomical abnormalities of the urinary tract, and patients with indwelling bladder catheters. (Taber’s Version 20 pg.2273) Urinary tract infections account for up to one-third of all nursing home – associated infections, making them the most common. Nursing interventions such as proper catheter care, …show more content…

The most common cause of urinary tract infections is residual urine in the bladder or high bladder pressures, both of which could be reduced with intermittent catheterization. Long-term indwelling catheters begin acquiring bacteria soon after they are inserted, and the likelihood of infection increases by as much as 6% each day that it is in place (Management of Urinary Tract Infection in the Community, 2014). Urinary tract infections can be extremely dangerous in elderly patients because they often do not show the normal signs or symptoms, instead of fever or painful urination, elderly patients may have a sudden onset of confusion, general feelings of discomfort, and/or incontinence. The symptoms that elderly patients show for a simple urinary tract infection can easily be diagnosed as things that are much more serious, such as dementia. Improper diagnoses such as these could potentially create a situation where the patient was not being given the proper medication to control the urinary tract infection, which could cause kidney damage if untreated for long periods of

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