Biochemical and bacteriological profile of urinary tract infections in diabetics and non-diabetics

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate if differences exist in the clinical and microbiological characteristics of UTI between diabetic and non-diabetic patients and to study the influence of diabetes mellitus on the spectrum of uropathogens and antimicrobial resistance pattern in patients with UTI.Materials and Methods: The study included 152 diabetic (69 males and 83 females) and 113 non-diabetic patients (46 males and 67 females) with culture positive UTIs. Patients with negative urine culture (n= 42), those diagnosed and treated outside (n= 58), not willing to participate in the study (n= 9) or with an age < 20 years were excluded. The following data including age, sex, occupation and symptomatology were taken and clinical examination was done.Results: There was no significant statistical difference in clinical symptoms between diabetic and non-diabetic subjects calculated by Chi-square test. Although fever was the most common presenting symptom, almost 28% of the patients (both diabetics and non-diabetics) did not present with any urinary symptoms as shown.Conclusion: Achieving an HbA1c < 6.5 per cent appears to protect those diabetics who do not have other underlying predisposing factors for UTI. An HbA1c > 8.0 per cent in patients with diabetes mellitus increases the chance of developing UTI and its recurrence. E. coli is the most frequent pathogen responsible for UTI and recurrent UTI among both diabetics and non-diabetics followed by Klebsiella and Enterococcus.