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This prospective, multicentre, randomized, double-blind and placebo controlled study was performed to describe the natural course of uncomplicated lower urinary tract infection (UTI). A total of 1143 women 18 y and above, consulting at 18 primary health care centres in northern Sweden for symptoms suggestive of UTI were included. The symptoms urgency, dysuria, suprapubic pain and loin pain were registered, and urine cultures performed at inclusion and follow-up visits 8-10 d and 5-7 weeks later. Associations between all symptoms and bacteriuria or bacterial counts were unpredictable. Eradication of symptoms and bacteriuria and combinations of them were studied in 288 patients placebo treated for 7 d, of whom 39% dropped out after the first follow-up visit. The spontaneous cure rate of symptoms was 28% after the first week, and 37% had neither symptoms nor bacteriuria after 5-7 weeks. Considering the high dropout rate after the first follow-up visit, the spontaneous cure rate of symptoms and bacteriuria was calculated to 24% at the end of study. We conclude that patient near-laboratory tests are required to establish the diagnosis of lower UTI, and the guidelines for diagnosis of UTI need to be revised.

The primary infecting Escherichia coli strains from 156 women with community-acquired uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) randomized to pivmecillinam or placebo and the E. coli strains causing UTI at two follow-up visits were typed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). In the pivmecillinam treatment group PFGE showed that among patients having a negative urine culture at the first follow-up 77% (46/60) had a relapse with the primary infecting E. coli strain and 23% (14/60) had reinfection with a new E. coli strain at the second follow-up. Among patients having E. coli at the first follow-up PFGE showed that 80% (32/40) had persistence with the primary infecting E. coli strain, 15% (6/40) had reinfection with a new E. coli strain, and 5% (2/40) had different E. coli strains at the two follow-up visits (one had reinfection followed by relapse, and the other had persistence followed by reinfection). In the placebo group the majority had E. coli at the first follow-up. PFGE showed that among these patients 96% (50/52) had persistence with the primary infecting E. coli strain and 4% (2/50) had different E. coli strains at the two follow-up visits (both had persistence followed by reinfection). The finding that the majority of UTIs at follow-up are caused by the primary infecting E. coli strain supports the theory of a vaginal and rectal reservoir but could also support the recent discovery that E. coli strains are able to persist in the bladder epithelium despite appropriate antibiotic treatment, constituting a reservoir for recurrent UTI.Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common bacterial infections of any organ system and accounts for significant morbidity and high medical costs (11, 32). The prevalence is influenced by gender and age-increasing with age and being most common among females except at early infancy (8). One study found that the incidence of symptomatic UTI among sexually active women aged 18 to 40 years was 0.5 to 0.7 per person-year (16). By the age of 24, one-third of the women were found to have had at least one physician-diagnosed UTI requiring antimicrobial treatment (11). The lifetime risk of UTI for women is reported to be in the range of 40 to 60% (11,29). Recurrent UTI (RUTI) is common, i.e., 16 to 40% of women who experience an episode of UTI are reported to develop recurrence (10,13,19,25). One-fourth of all women with a first UTI have been reported to develop a second UTI within 6 months (10), and within 12 months 50% of women have been reported to experience a recurrence (8,19).Considering the high figures for occurrence of RUTI, it is of considerable importance to understand the pathogenesis behind RUTI in order to be able to devise new treatment and preventive strategies in the future.One aspect to consider regarding the pathogenesis of RUTI is whether it is attributable to reinfection with a new strain or relapse with the primary infecting strain.Approximately 80 to 90% of all community-acquired UTIs and more than 30% of nosocomially acquired UTIs are ca...

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