Biomarkers for the diagnosis of urinary tract infection in older adult
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Determining whether chemicals within urine in combination with microscopic examination of cells and microbiological methods can provide accurate sensitivity and specificity of a diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTIs) and bacteriuria.
IRAS ID
310677
Contact name
Rachael Odunmbaku
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Portsmouth
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for about 100,000 hospitalised geriatric patients yearly. Which accounts for about 25 percent of all infections. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is the main causative organism of most urinary tract infections and other Gram-negative bacteria.
In patients 65 years and above, approximately 6.2% of deaths and 15.5% of hospitalisation are caused by UTIs. Studies reveal that in institutionalised adults, UTIs are the most common type of infection which accounts for more than one-third of all infections amongst the elderly population. UTIs are more common in females than in males due to the closeness of the anus and vagina and the short length of the urethra making it 4x as common as in males in this patient demographic. Previous studies revealed that one of the major risk factors for UTI is ageing. Although, in the elderly population some studies have revealed the use of certain biomarkers for the diagnosis of UTIs and in differentiating upper UTIs from lower UTIs, very few studies have been performed in the elderly population overall, unlike the paediatric population. One of the reasons identified was the difficulty in diagnosing older adults due to underlying medical conditions, cases of incontinence and other comorbidities making it difficult to differentiate between upper or lower UTIs from Asymptomatic Bacteriuria (ABU). This study aims to analyse a combination of 4 biomarkers and compare those in parallel to the culture and sensitivity to identify if there is any correlation between the organism and the sensitivity to the biomarker profile. So, if a panel of biomarkers can be identified rather than one or two that current literature focuses on, this may provide a better indication as to the causative organism and possibly the sensitivity and it will help to inform the potential point of care testing methodologies that will provide prompt patient care and treatment.REC name
East of England - Essex Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/EE/0288
Date of REC Opinion
9 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion