Iranian South Medical Journal (Feb 2005)
Urinary tract infection in patients with spinal cord injury in Bushehr Province
Abstract
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common problem in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). UTI is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among these patients. In a cross-sectional study, 957 cases with SCI were evaluated for UTI. The mean of age of the subjects (35 females & 62 males) was 26.74 years and the mean duration of SCI was 8.5 years. The prevalence of UTI was 63.9 percent. The most frequent isolated bacteria was E. coli (71.7%) and had susceptibility to ceftizoxime and a high level of resistance to nitrofurantoin. The most common locus of SCI was in lumbosacral area (70.1%). The lumbosacral area was the most prevalent lesion in patients with SCI and UTI. In conclusion, there is a high prevalence of UTI in patients with SCI, therefore intermittent catheterization and the other strategies including using local disinfectants are recommended.
