BACKGROUND

This study investigated the association between the presence of bacteremia and increase in the requirement for intensive care in adult patients with urinary tract infection (UTI). The study also analyzed the differences in clinical features between patients with versus without bacteremia.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective screening of the medical records of adult patients admitted during a 4-month period at a single medical center. We excluded patients with concomitant infections and patients whose urine and blood samples were not collected in the emergency department (ED). The included patients were allocated to two groups-bacteremia and nonbacteremia groups-according to the blood culture results for samples collected in the ED.

RESULTS

The study cohort comprised 637 patients, including 158 (24.8%) patients in the bacteremia group and 479 (75.2%) patients in the nonbacteremia group. Compared with the patients in the nonbacteremia group, those in the bacteremia group satisfied more systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria; they had a higher white cell count, C-reactive protein level, and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores; and had a greater requirement for intensive care (bacteremia vs. nonbacteremia; SIRS: 79.1% vs. 49.9%, = 0.000; leukocytosis: 68.2% vs. 57.6%, = 0.000; elevation of CRP: 96.2% vs. 78.6%, = 0.000; SOFA: 39.2% vs. 23.2%, = 0.000; requirement for intensive care: 13.9% vs. 4.4%, = 0.000, respectively). According to the results of multivariate logistic regression, bacteremia and sepsis were independent factors associated with the requirement for intensive care.

CONCLUSIONS

Bacteremia increased the requirement for intensive care in patients with UTI. Physicians can identify bacteremia using inflammatory markers, the SIRS criteria, and SOFA scores.