According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are approximately 4 million hospital outpatient visits every year in America to treat urinary tract infections. It is essential to have this infection treated. If it is not resolved, serious complications can develop.
Kidney Stones
Urinary tract infections can lead to kidney stones. There are four kinds of stones. High levels of calcium in the urine cause the most common type. Recurring urinary tract infections cause the second most common type of kidney stone: a struvite stone. A bacterium named Proteus causes struvite stones. This type of bacteria has an enzyme called urease. Enzymes are proteins that speed up a reaction time. As Proteus uses this enzyme, the urine becomes less acidic and struvite stones can form, as explained by Thomas Russo, MD, of the State University of New York, in “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine.” These kidney stones are made of magnesium, ammonium and phosphate. They have been nicknamed “staghorn calculus”, because their shape resembles the horn of a stag, or deer. The term "calculus" means stone.
Sepsis
Bacteria cause most urinary tract infections. If the infection is not treated, the bacteria can spread and enter the bloodstream. This is sepsis. Max Weil, MD, PhD, of the Weil Institute of Critical Care Medicine, writes about sepsis in “The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals.” The body responds to sepsis and fights the infection. But sepsis can develop to severe sepsis, in which at least one organ fails. If the infection develops further to septic shock, then the tissues and organs no longer receive the amount of blood and oxygen that they need to function.
Pyelonephritis
Pyelonephritis is an inflammation within the kidneys. Approximately 100,000 people are hospitalized every year from this complication, writes Shersten Killip, MD, of the University of Kentucky in “Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine.” It is a complication of urinary tract infections, because it is usually due to an infection within the urinary tract that spreads upward. The main bacteria that cause pyelonephritis are E. coli, Klebsiella and S. saprophyticus. These same bacteria also cause urinary tract infections. If pyelonephritis is not treated, it can cause scars and abscesses in the kidney. Pyelonephritis is also a common cause of septic shock in pregnant women. In “Williams Obstetrics”, F. Gary Cunningham, MD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center writes about a study published in 2003. In a two-year period, 12 percent of the hospital admissions in the Parkland Hospital Obstetric Intensive Care Unit were due to sepsis that developed from pyelonephritis.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Urinary Tract Infections
- “Current Diagnosis & Treatment in Family Medicine”; Jeannette South-Paul, M.D., Samuel Matheny, M.D., Evelyn Lewis, M.D.; 2008
- “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine”; Anthony Fauci, MD; 2008
- "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals": Sepsis and Septic Shock
- “Williams Obstetrics”; F. Gary Cunningham, MD; 2010
