Urinary Tract Infection in Community-Dwelling Elderly Women: A New Old Serious Disease

Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a very common infection among women of all ages. However, the incidence increases with older age and account for the substantial raise in morbidity, mortality and health economic costs in elderly people. Almost half of all women have suffered from at least one episode during their reproductive age, a percentage that increases to at least 60% in the postmenopausal period. UTI in elderly women can be a complex problem in terms of approach to diagnosis, treatment and prevention, because these patients often present nonspecific symptoms, resulting in the increase of morbidity and mortality in this group. It is very important to increase the epidemiological and clinical knowledge about UTI in order to help the general practitioner or specialist to make early diagnosis to prevent serious clinical complications secondary to UTI in elderly women.