title: [Urinary tract infections in the elderly].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Age over 65 years is generally used to define the elderly population. Urinary tract infections are increasingly frequent after this age. Comorbidity and living conditions in the elderly have a particular incidence on the clinical expression and the bacterial flora involved. Besides these elements, altered cognitive capacity and abnormal urinary function prior to the infection and lead to an atypical clinical presentation.
  Systematic screening has produced a large body of literature on asymptomatic bacteriuria. Our review of the literature leads to the conclusion that systematic bacteriology tests are not warranted in the elderly population in general due to the subsequent risk of germ selection and erroneous diagnosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The diagnosis of urinary infection must be evidence-based, taking into account the patient's history and ruling out other diagnoses. In all cases, antibiotics must be carefully adapted to the patient's situation and titrated to kidney function.
authors.affiliation: Service des Urgences, Hôpital Henri Mondor, F 94010 Créteil.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hervé
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Santin
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hinglais
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lejonc
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Roupie
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015897:Comorbidity; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods; D008487:Medical History Taking; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000379:methods; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D014563:Urodynamics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
vernacular_title: Infections urinaires du sujet âgé.