1. Molecular epidemiology of asymptomatic bacteriuria in the elderly.
- Author
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Rahav, Galia, Pinco, Erica, Bachrach, Gilad, and Bercovier, Herve
- Subjects
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BACTERIAL diseases , *HEALTH of older people , *NURSING home patients , *MOLECULAR epidemiology , *GERIATRICS - Abstract
Objectives: to determine the incidence and the dynamics of asymptomatic bacteriuria in ambulatory' nursing home residents, and to characterise bacteria according to their phenotype and genotype. Design: an 18 months prospective longitudinal study. Subjects: 42 nursing home residents (31 female, 11 males) without indwelling catheters. Methods: urine was sampled every 3 months. Antibiograms, biotyping and ribotyping were performed. Results: the cumulative percent of infection for females and males was 75% and 27% respectively. Osteoporosis was associated with bacteriuria. Ribotypes of consecutive Escherichia coli isolates indicated that each patient harboured a different strain. Conclusions: asymptomatic bacteriuria in the elderly is a dynamic and transient phenomenon. Osteoporosis is common among this population. Ribotyping is a powerful tool in the elucidation of the epidemiology of this bacteriuria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2003
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