[Prognosis of urinary tract infections with discordant antibiotic treatment]. / Pronóstico de las infecciones urinarias con tratamiento antibiótico discordante.

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to evaluate the prognosis of urinary tract infections (UTI) treated empirically with inadequate antibiotic treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Prospective cohort study of patients over 18 years of age, attended in the hospital emergency service between 01/02 and 31/05 of 2007, due to micturation symptoms, accompanied by pyuria (>10 leukocytes/mm(3) of uncentrifuged urine) or positive reactive strip for nitrites-leukocytes and urine culture with >10(3) colony forming units. It was considered that the antibiotic treatment prescribed empirically was adequate if the bacteria isolated was sensitive and had been prescribed for the correct time. It was considered that there was therapeutic failure when the symptoms persisted after 5 days of treatment. Age, gender, presence of indwelling bladder catheter, type of UTI, hospitalization in the previous 3 months, origin of the patient and associated diseases were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 177 bacteria were isolated in 168 patients. In 29 cases (17.3%), the microorganism isolated was resistant to the antibiotic prescribed. There was thereaputic failure in only 6 patients, although they did not required hospital admission. The patients who lived in a residential home for the elderly (13.7% vs 2.2%, P = 0.015) or who had been hospitalized during the previous 3 months (20.6% vs 4.3%, p = 0.039) had a greater risk of receiving inadequate treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of the patients attended in the emergency hospital service due to UTI with discordant antibiotic treatment is favorable in most of the cases. Performing urine culture in patients with greater risk of suffering UTI due to a resistant microorganism would be recommendable.