Retrospective Study of the Etiology, Laboratory Findings, and Management of Patients with Urinary Tract Infections and Urosepsis from a Urology Center in Silesia, Southern Poland Between 2017 and 2020

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that up to 25% of sepsis cases originate in the urinary tract. Urosepsis can be associated with cystitis, lower urinary tract infections (UTIs), and upper UTIs and is most commonly caused by gram-negative bacteria. This retrospective study from a urology center in southern Poland, was conducted between 2017 and 2020 and aimed to investigate the causes, microbiology laboratory findings, and management in 138 patients with UTIs and urosepsis. MATERIAL/METHODS: Records of patients with UTIs with urosepsis admitted to the Urology Department of the hospital in Silesia, Poland, between 2017 and 2020 were analyzed retrospectively, and clinical and laboratory data were evaluated. RESULTS: The 138 included patients were admitted to the hospital between 2017 and 2020. The median age of patients was 67 (20–94) years, and 59.9% (82/137) were men. The most common reasons for admission to the Urology Department were hydronephrosis due to dysfunction of urinary drainage in 36.5% (50/137) of patients and hydronephrosis due to urolithiasis in 22.6% (31/137) of patients. The main etiological agents responsible for the development of urosepsis were strains of Enterobacteriaceae in 85% of patients, of which 41.4% (48/116) produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL), accounting for 35.0% (48/137) of patients with urosepsis. In 83.3% (80/96) of patients, the pathogen cultured from the urine was identical to that cultured from the blood. CONCLUSIONS: The identification of an increasing prevalence of urosepsis associated with ESBL-producing gram-negative rods from this single-center study highlights the importance of infection monitoring, rapid diagnosis, and multidisciplinary patient management.