22 November 2021

Anti-Microbial Awareness Week takes place 18 to 24 November and is an annual campaign to increase awareness of global antimicrobial resistance and encourage best practice among the general public, health workers and policy makers. Ahead of the start of here’s some useful information for colleagues about spotting and treating urinary tract infections (UTIs).

What are the symptoms of a UTI?

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Dipstick Analysis

This should not be used to diagnose a UTI in patients who are:

  • Over 65 (a large percentage of patients over 65 will show a positive dipstick whether they have a water infection or not which leads to false positives and inappropriate prescription of antibiotics)
  • Catheterised.

In an informal survey carried out in September 2021 of some Trust ward nursing staff it revealed 74 percent had not received any training on using dipstick for urinalysis but used dipstick testing regularly in their role.

More information on why we test, how we test and what dipsticks can tell us can be found online.

When does NICE recommend urine samples to be taken for laboratory testing

Treating a UTI

Remember these key principles of Antimicrobial Stewardship when prescribing an antibiotic for a suspected UTI:

  • Assess the patient not the symptoms or dipstick alone
  • Prescribe according to local antimicrobial prescribing guidelines
  • Collect a urine sample for Culture and Sensitivity before starting antibiotics - review the results when reported
  • Review the patient within 72 hours of starting the antibiotic for effectiveness and document the review.
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Further guidance: