Abstract
Objectives: To determine the validity of screening criteria based on signs and symptoms for catheter-associated bacteriuria in elderly hospitalized patients. Design: Prospective observational study. Patients: Adult catheterized patients ≥65 years of age in two units of a general hospital. Methods: The following data were collected between August and October 2004;signs and sym-Atoms of urinary tract infections, dipstick tests and urine cultures once a week. Detection of any type of microorganisms of more than 105 CFU/mL was used to calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive value and efficiency. Results: Forty-four subjects (mean age 81 yearold) were enrolled. The sensitivity of signs and symptoms of at least one of the following was 65%; fever ≥37.5°C, urgency/frequency/dysuria/suprapubic tenderness and pyuria. Therefore, using of only signs and symptoms will miss 1/30f cases of bacteuria. In contrast, the sensitivity of leukocyte esterase and nitrate by the dipstick test was over 90%, and efficiency was 78%. Conclusions: The validity of the dipstick test was higher than the screening criteria based on signs and symptoms for early detection of UTIs in the elderly.
