ArticleBMJ open2021
Diagnosis of urinary tract infection based on symptoms: how are likelihood ratios affected by age? a diagnostic accuracy study.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02698332 (Effect of a Diagnostic Algorithm for Urinary Tract Infection on Appropriate Use of Antibiotics and Diagnostics in General Practice - a Cluster Randomized Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effect of a Diagnostic Algorithm for Urinary Tract Infection on Appropriate Use of Antibiotics and Diagnostics in General Practice - a Cluster Randomized Trial
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence-based appraisal of two guidelines for the diagnosis of suspected, uncomplicated urinary tract infections in primary care: a diagnostic accuracy validation study.The Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy · 2023Trial
- Assessment of Inter-rater Variability in the Diagnosis of Urinary Tract Infections in the Emergency Department.The western journal of emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Machine learning to predict bacteriuria in the emergency department.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Understanding the Burden and Management of Urinary Tract Infections in Women.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Point-of-care testing and antibiotics prescribing in out-of-hours general practice: a register-based study in Denmark.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Complementarities between algorithmic and human decision-making: The case of antibiotic prescribing.Quantitative marketing and economics · 2024Article
- The clinical usefulness of guideline-based strategies with and without the role of nonspecific symptoms to predict urinary tract infections in nursing homes: a decision curve analysis.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2024Article
- Impact of Menopausal Status and Recurrent UTIs on Symptoms, Severity, and Daily Life: Findings from an Online Survey of Women Reporting a Recent UTI.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Severity and Bothersomeness of Urinary Tract Infection Symptoms in Women before and after Menopause.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Prescribing antibiotics: the use of diagnostic tests in general practice. A register-based study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the impact of age on the diagnostic properties of typical symptoms of urinary tract infection (UTI) in women presenting in general practice with symptoms suggestive of UTI with significant bacteriuria as the reference standard.
designDiagnostic accuracy study.
settingGeneral practice, Copenhagen, Denmark.
participantsAdult 15 years or older. Women presenting in general practice with symptoms suggestive of UTI where urine was collected for investigation. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Accuracy of four symptoms of UTI (dysuria, frequency, urge and abdominal pain) in six different age groups.
results90 practices included 1178 adult women. The prevalence of bacteriuria varied between 30% in women aged 30-44 years and 67% in women aged 75-89 years. The likelihood ratios for dysuria varied between age groups with the best performance in women aged 15-29 (positive likelihood ratio (pLR): 1.62 (1.30-1.94), negative likelihood ratio (nLR): 0.36 (0.19-0.54)) and women aged 30-44 (pLR: 1.74 (1.30-2.17), nLR: 0.48 (0.27-0.68)). CIs included or approximated one for the remaining symptoms in most age groups. When symptoms were combined to calculate post-test probabilities, the combined effect of the varying prevalence of bacteriuria and the varying diagnostic values resulted in a large variation of the post-test probabilities between age groups.
conclusionsThe diagnostic value of symptoms of UTI as well as the prevalence of bacteriuria in women presenting to general practice with suspected UTI vary between age groups with considerable clinical implications. Diagnostic studies should take demographics such as age into consideration. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02698332.
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