Nursing Care Plan - Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

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Male & Female Urinary Tract

A urinary tract infection is an infection of any of the organs in the urinary tract, which consist of the bladder, the ureter, the urethra, and the kidneys.

A urinary tract infection (UTI) may occur in the:

Bladder - Cystitis is an infection of the bladder. This is the most common form of UTI; it can be aggravated if the bladder does not empty completely when you urinate.

Urethra - Urethritis is infection/inflammation of the urethra. This can be due to other things besides the organisms usually involved in UTI’s; in particular, many sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s) appear initially as urethritis.

Ureter - Ureteritis is infection of a ureter. This can occur if the bacteria entered the urinary tract from above, or if the ureter-to-bladder valves don’t work properly and allow urine to “reflux” from the bladder into the ureters.

Kidney - Pyelonephritis is an infection of the kidney itself. This can happen with infection from above, or if reflux into the ureters is so bad that infected urine refluxes all the way to the kidney.

People more susceptible to UTI’s:

• Diabetics because of changes in the immune system
• Infants who are born with abnormalities of the urinary tract
• Women who use a diaphragm
• Women whose partners use a condom with spermicidal foam
• A person who has already had a UTI
• Pregnant women
• Post-menopausal women
• Women on birth control pills
• Women with lowered immunity
• Women with prolapsed urethra or bladder
• Women with obstructions in the urinary tract

Symptoms

Symptoms depend on age of person and where the UTI is located .

Symptoms of urethritis often include:

• Burning sensation at the start of urination

Symptoms of cystitis often include:

• Burning sensation in the middle of urination
• Fever
• Lower abdominal pain
• Funny smell, color, or appearance (cloudy, dark, blood tinged) of urine

Symptoms of Pyelonephritis often include:

• Pain in back, flanks, or abdomen
• Fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Other symptoms of UTI’s:

• Uncomfortable pressure above pubic bone
• Fullness in rectum (in men only)
• Small amount of urine, despite urge to urinate
• Irritability (in children only)
• Abnormal eating (in children only)

Reference: http://medplant.nmsu.edu/Diseases/uti/uti.HTML

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