Editing Urinary Tract Infections (section)

== Natural history ==

* '''The long-term effects of'''
** '''Complicated UTIs can lead to progressive renal damage'''
** '''Uncomplicated recurrent UTIs are not completely known'''
*** No association between recurrent uncomplicated UTIs and renal scarring, hypertension, or progressive renal azotemia has been established
* '''57-80% of bacteriuric women who are untreated or treated with placebo clear their infections spontaneously.'''
* '''Whether a patient receives no treatment at all or short-term, long-term, or prophylactic antimicrobial treatment, the risk of recurrent bacteriuria remains the same'''
** '''Prophylactic antimicrobial therapy reduces re-infections but does not alter the underlying predisposition to recurring infection.'''
*** '''Patients''' with frequent UTI '''who take prophylactic antimicrobial agents''' for extended periods (≥6 months) '''may decrease their infections during the time of prophylaxis, but the rate of infection returns to the pretreatment rate after prophylaxis is stopped'''