Introductory Chapter: An Overview on Urinary Tract Infections, Pathogens, and Risk Factors

Abstract

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter 1. Urinary tract infections and the related concerns Urinary tract infections (UTIs), the second-ranked infectious diseases, are recognized as a big concern relating to global healthcare systems. The problem with UTIs is two-dimensional. From the economic aspect, patients with UTIs cost millions of US dollars (USD) for different governments annually. From the other dimension, there is a huge number of patients with UTIs which must be visited by a considerable number of physicians and specialists that involve an abundance of human resources in the public healthcare systems. So, the UTIs should be diagnosed and treated definitely at the earliest to decrease the costs and traffics in public healthcare systems [1-6]. Moreover, UTIs are known as multi-microbial infectious diseases, which can be happened by bacteria (Gram-positive and/or Gram-negative strains) and fungi. Among Gram-negative bacteria, the member of Enterobacteriaceae and, in particular, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are the most common uropathogenic bacterial agents, which may cause different types of UTIs. Furthermore, Gram-negative bacteria, including Streptococci, Staphylococci, and Enterococci, are involved in UTIs in humans. On the other hand, fungi and particularly Candida albicans (C. albicans) strains may act as opportunistic pathogenic fungi for causing UTIs. However, the non-C. albicans Candida (NACA) such as C. glabrata and C. tropicalis are reported from some countries as the predominant species of the causative agents of UTIs [1, 2, 4, 7-14]. 2. Urinary tract infections and diagnostics Fortunately, the methodologies and procedures of diagnostics are in progress, and the use of molecular techniques (e.g., polymerase chain reaction (PCR)) and advanced pan-genomic

Long-term antifouling surfaces for urinary catheters

“…33 In particular, E. coli corresponds to 80% of the UTI 34 and 24% of the CAUTI cases, and it's quite renowned for its antibiotic resistance, which makes it difficult to eliminate from the urinary tract. 35 Similarly, P. mirabilis has a high infection rate 36 and is the main cause of crystal biofilm formation through the production of the urease enzyme. The interaction of this enzyme with urea causes the formation of struvite stones, which is one of the most known reasons for catheter obstruction.…”