Urinary Tract Infection : Clinical Manifestations

Clinical Manifestations

• Painful urination
• Abdominal or back pain
• Fever
• Sepsis
• Decreased kidney function in some cases of pyelonephritis
• Symptoms related Storage:
  • Urinary frequency
    • Abnormally frequent (more often than  every 2 hours)
  • Urgency
    • Sudden, strong desire to void immediately
  • Incontinence
    • Loss or leakage or urine
  • Bladder storage
    • Nocturia
      • Waking up two or more times at night to void
      • May be diurnal or nocturnal depending on sleep schedule
    • Nocturnal enuresis
      • Loss of urine during sleep
  • Bladder emptying
    • Weak stream
    • Hesitancy
      • Difficulty starting the urine stream
      • Delay between initiation of urination (because of urethral sphincter relaxation) and beginning of low of urine
      • Diminished urinary stream
    • Intermittency
      • Interruption of urinary stream during voiding
    • Post-void dribbling
      • Urine loss after completion of voiding
    • Urinary retention
      • Inability to empty urine from bladder
      • Caused by atonic bladder or obstruction of urethra
      • Can be acute or chronic
    • Dysuria
      • Painful or difficulty voiding
  • Flank pain, chills, and fever indicate infection of upper tract
    • Pyelonephritis
  • In older adults
    • Symptoms often absent
    • Nonlocalized abdominal discomfort rather than dysuria
    • Cognitive impairment possible
    • Fever less likely