EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTIBIOTICS IN INCREASING THE FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY AND REDUCING THE ECONOMIC BURDEN IN FEMALE URINARY TRACT INFECTION PATIENTS

Background: Urinary tract infection is a common medical problem for women throughout their lifetime. Recurrence after urinary tract infection (rUTI) is common in adult women. The majority of recurrences are believed to be reinfection from extra urinary sources such as rectum or vagina. The treatment of recurrent urinary tract infection also inflicts an economic burden on the patient’s life. Hence, we must use an effective antibiotic that prevents the recurrence of UTI and improve the functional capacity and quality of life in women. This study aims to study the effectiveness of different antibiotics in increasing the functional capacity and reducing the economic burden in UTI women. Methodology: This is a prospective, observational study, conducted in a total of 50 patients at General Medicine Department of a tertiary care hospital in Coimbatore for a period of six months. The patient demographic details were collected from the medical records or direct patient interview. Urine analysis, urine culture and antibiotic sensitivity reports were also collected and entered in the data collection form. The functional capacity and quality of life scores before and after antibiotic administration were calculated using the Leicester Impact scale. Results: The study shows that the urinary tract infection mainly affects women between the ages 55 and 65 yrs. Escherichia coli is the principal microorganism that causes urinary tract infection the most and the major risk factor is menopause(24%) and the least risk factor is urosepsis (10%). Mostly prescribed antibiotic is combination of Cefoperazone and Sulbactam and its recurrence rate is 4%. Conclusion: From the study, it is concluded that amikacin is the most cost effective medication with no recurrence rate and with a mean number of days of hospital stay of four days.