The urinary tract (both kidneys, bladder and urethra) can be infected by micro-organisms such as bacteria (common), viruses (uncommon) and fungi.

UTI symptoms include:

• Need to urinate urgently and having trouble holding the bladder before you reach the toilet
• Multiple visits to toilet but small amount of urine voided
• Painful urination ( at the opening of the urethra)
• Foul-smelling urine
• Blood in urine
• Involuntary loss of urine in older people
• Severe back pain
• Abdominal pain
• Fever, nausea and vomiting
• Poor appetite and general lethargy in older, uncommunicative people
  

UTIs can occur because of different factors.

Host factors - Patients who have abnormal anatomy or functional urinating issues may allow micro-organisms to invade/infect the urinary tracts more easily. Patients who are immunocompromised (eg, diabetic) may get UTIs more often.

Pathogenic factors - The micro-organisms (usually bacteria) have evolved well enough to invade normal urinary tracts.

Environmental factors - Sexual intercourse or use of spermicides for susceptible patients may make it easier for micro-organisms to infect the urinary tract.

​A recurrent UTI is widely defined as more than two episodes of uncomplicated or complicated UTI in the last 6 months or more than 3 episodes in the last 12 months, documented by urine culture.

UTI can manifest as either cystitis (involving the bladder) or pyelonephritis (involving the kidneys) and may also be classified as complicated or uncomplicated.

Uncomplicated UTIs are sporadic, community acquired episodes of cystitis and pyelonephritis in otherwise healthy individuals

Complicated UTI means that there are structural or functional urinary tract abnormalities or an underlying pathology that made UTIs more common for that patient. This also means that the patient may have increased risks of infection or failure of therapy.

Please seek avice from your family doctor or specialist if you have recurrent UTIs. 

​Click here to find out more about the services and treatments available. 

• Associate Professor Edmund Chiong
• Assistant Professor David Consigliere
• Professor Kesavan Esuvaranathan
• Associate Professor Tiong Ho Yee
• Assistant Professor Chua Wei Jin
• Dr Joe Lee King Chien (Li Jingzheng)  
• Dr Wu Qing Hui
• Assistant Professor Benjamin Goh
• Dr Melissa Tay Hui Wen
• Dr Lu Jirong
  
• Dr Kelven Chen
  
• Dr Wang Ziting
  
• Dr Chia Jun Yang