Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Sep 24:14:1402941.
doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1402941. eCollection 2024.

Comprehensive insights into UTIs: from pathophysiology to precision diagnosis and management

Swathi Sujith  1 , Adline Princy Solomon  1 , John Bosco Balaguru Rayappan  2
Affiliations
Review

Comprehensive insights into UTIs: from pathophysiology to precision diagnosis and management

Swathi Sujith et al. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. .

Abstract

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the second most common infectious disease, predominantly impacting women with 150 million individuals affected globally. It increases the socio-economic burden of society and is mainly caused by Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter spp., and Staphylococcus spp. The severity of the infection correlates with the host factors varying from acute to chronic infections. Even with a high incidence rate, the diagnosis is mainly based on the symptoms, dipstick analysis, and culture analysis, which are time-consuming, labour-intensive, and lacking sensitivity and specificity. During this period, medical professionals prescribe empirical antibiotics, which may increase the antimicrobial resistance rate. Timely and precise UTI diagnosis is essential for addressing antibiotic resistance and improving overall quality of life. In response to these challenges, new techniques are emerging. The review provides a comprehensive overview of the global burden of UTIs, associated risk factors, implicated organisms, traditional and innovative diagnostic methods, and approaches to UTI treatment and prevention.

Keywords: POCT; UTI; bacteria; diagnosis; sensors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Risk Factors and routes of infection of UTI. Created Using BioRender.com .
Figure 2
Figure 2
UTI Biomarkers and Prevention Strategies: Various host and pathogen markers for UTI Detection. Created Using BioRender.com .
Figure 3
Figure 3
Diagnostic methods of UTI: Conventional and emerging methods. Created Using BioRender.com .
Figure 4
Figure 4
Urine collection methods and conventional diagnostic methods of UTI: Dipstick analysis, Microscopic analysis and urine culture test. Created Using BioRender.com .
Figure 5
Figure 5
Paper-based approaches to detect UTI: (A). Schematic representation of MTT-PMS test strips; (B). Turn table paper-based device; (C). Smartphone integrated paper (SIP)-based device; (D). Paper-based analytical device (PAD) for detection of nitrate and E.coli; (E). paper-based ELISA; (F). Portable origami cellulose immunobiosensor. Created Using BioRender.com .
Figure 6
Figure 6
Electrochemical sensor-based approach to detect UTI: (A). Lateral flow-based electrochemical biosensor for detection of urine PGE2; (B). Electrochemical immunosensor for detection of Lactoferrin (C). Electrochemical immunosensor for detection of UPEC; (D) electrochemical biosensor for detection of leukocyte esterase and nitrate; (E) Aptamer-based electrochemical sensor for detection of 3-O-C12-HSL; (F) electrochemical aptasensor for detection of lactoferrin. Created Using BioRender.com .
Figure 7
Figure 7
Optical sensors for UTI Detection: (A) Nanoplasmonic sensing platform for detection of UPEC; (B) Lateral Flow Assay for detection of E.coli; (C) Aptasensor to detect K pneumoniae; (D) Glucose-responsive photonic crystal integrated optical sensor; (E) Photoluminescence based optical biosensor. Created Using BioRender.com .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abdelaal A. M., Salah A. A., Alhamshary A., Saad O., Shaer E., Mohamedyounes A. Z., et al. . (2019).Urinary Interleukin-6 as biomarker for diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis in children. Available online at: https://geget.journals.ekb.eg/.
    1. Abed H. A., Mohammed Ali K. O., Alrifai S. B. (2021). Estimation of IL-6 and IL-8 in the urine and serum of children with urinary tract infection. Indian J. Forensic Med. Toxicol. 15. doi: 10.37506/ijfmt.v15i3 - DOI
    1. Acton S., O’Meara Y. M. (1997). Urinary tract infection and contraceptive method. Irish Med. J. 90, 176. - PubMed
    1. Adegun P. T., Odimayo M. S., Olaogun J. G., Emmanuel E. E. (2019). Comparison of uropathogens and antibiotic susceptibility patterns in catheterized ambulant middle-aged and elderly Nigerian patients with bladder outlet obstruction. Türk Üroloji Dergisi/Turkish J. Urol. 45, 48–55. doi: 10.5152/tud.2018.25588 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adrover-Jaume C., Rojo-Molinero E., Clemente A., Russell S. M., Arranz J., Oliver A., et al. . (2020). Mobile origami immunosensors for the rapid detection of urinary tract infections. Anal. 145, 7916–7921. doi: 10.1039/D0AN01218A - DOI - PubMed

Substances

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

LinkOut - more resources