Although urinary tract infections (UTI) represent the most common infection caused by enterococci, some aspects remain to be fully clarified. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics present in UTI caused by Enterococcus spp. in patients followed up at the Prof. Edgard Santos Teaching Hospital of the Federal University of Bahia. All patients consecutively examined between 1997 and 2005, who received a diagnosis of UTI caused by Enterococcus spp. were included in the study. UTI was defined as the presence of ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ ≥ 10 5 colony-forming units per mL of urine. Standard microbiological techniques were used. During the study period, 6.2% of the urine cultures were positive for Enterococcus spp. The mean age of the patients was 48.9 years and 57% were male. At initial evaluation, 13% of the patients had complaints suggestive of UTI. Nineteen patients had a history consistent with obstructive uropathy and 26 with neurogenic bladder. At final evaluation, UTI was the diagnosis in 48 patients. In 36 patients (29%), the primary diagnosis was related to urogenital diseases, consisting of obstructive uropathy in 23 of these cases, while in 32 patients (25.8%) primary diagnosis was related to neurologic diseases, frequently neurogenic bladder. UTI caused by Enterococcus spp. is not infrequent, is usually associated with few or no symptoms and occurs in sick patients who have anatomical or functional obstructive uropathy associated or not with urinary tract catheterization or instrumentation. The diagnosis of enterococcal UTI may indicate a urinary tract abnormality yet to be diagnosed. Key-Words: Enterococcal infections, urinary tract, teaching hospital, Bahia, Brazil.Urinary tract infection is one of the most common infectious conditions in clinical practice and an important cause of nosocomial infection [1]. E. coli, other Gram-negative rods and Staphylococcus saprophyticus are the most frequent infecting organisms of the urinary tract [1,2]. Enterococcus spp., although less common, has been recognized as an important uropathogen [1,3].Enterococci are Gram-positive cocci, frequently referred to as facultative anaerobes. The habitat of these organisms is the gastrointestinal tract where they form part of the normal intestinal flora in humans [4]. In the last few years, enterococcal infections have become frequent occurrences in hospital settings. Currently they are an important cause of nosocomial infections [4][5][6] with increasingly common isolates that are resistant to multiple antibiotics [6][7][8][9]. Urinary tract infections constitute the most common type of disease produced by Enterococcus spp. [4][5][6].In view of the increasing importance of enterococcal infections and the current scarcity of pertinent clinical data in the medical literature, the purpose of the present study was to analyze urinary tract infections caused by Enterococcus spp. in patients followed up at a general hospital. Material and MethodsAll patients with a diagnosis of urinary tract infection caused by Enterococcus...

Objective: The present study aims at assessing the occurrence of pyelonephritis and long-term complications in rats submitted to surgical reduction of bladder capacity. Materials and Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats were submitted to supratrigonal cystectomy (29 animals) or sham operation (15 animals) and sacrificed 2, 4 and 6 months after the surgical procedure. The arterial blood pressure and serum creatinine levels were assessed before the surgery and at the time of the sacrifice. After the sacrifice a careful inspection of the urinary apparatus was performed to the characterization of the hydronephrosis and for the detection of the presence of calculi. With sterile technique, the urine was aspirated from the bladder and the kidneys removed and sent to a microbiologic study. Results: Pyelonephritis was frequent in animals submitted to supratrigonal cystectomy. The most frequent and isolated microorganisms were Staphylococcus sp. and E. coli. The presence of urinary calculi was correlated significantly to the presence of urinary tract infection (p < 0.003). Arterial hypertension was frequent amongst animals submitted to supratrigonal cystectomy. Serum creatinine was high in 72.4% of the animals in the group submitted to supratrigonal cystectomy. The presence of calculi and pyelonephritis were frequent in rats presenting renal insufficiency and in hypertensive rats. Conclusions:The long-term course of urinary infection in rats submitted to supratrigonal cystectomy was characterized by a high incidence of renal insufficiency and arterial hypertension that seem to be related to dysfunction and bladder obstruction induced by an extensive surgical procedure and the presence of urolithiasis and pyelonephritis.

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Our study demonstrated that 64% of the patients with LUTD and reflux presented findings in the VCUG that suggest dysfunction.