Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2003 , Vol 49 , Num 2

Urinary Tract Infections in Spinal Cord Injured Patients

Berrin Gündüz 1 ,Belgin Erhan 1 ,Bülent Çetinel 2
1 İstanbul Fiziksel Tedavi Rehabilitasyon Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul, Türkiye
2 İstanbul Üniversitesi Cerrahpaşa Tıp Fakültesi, Üroloji Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul

Spinal cord injured patients are highly prone to urinary tract infections. The high frequency of recurrences, the problems with drug resistance and the difficulties associated with diagnosis complicate the management. In this study we aimed to investigate the urinary tract infections (UTI) among spinal cord injured patients who were evaluated by urodynamic studies; also possible correlations between UTI, type of microorganism and gender, type of bladder management and urodynamic findings were examined. Out of 338 patients we could obtain sufficient data in 285. In 172 of the patients urine cultures were positive, E coli being the most predominant microorganism. Indwelling catheterization and UTI were found to be highly correlated. It was concluded that patients with SCI  should be followed up lifelong for possible urinary tract complications..

Keywords : Urinary tract infections, spinal cord injury