Urinary tract infections. The causative agents and their sensitivities to chemotherapeutic drugs.

A retrospective study was made of the requests for bacteriological examination of urine samples by the different clinical departments of Vila Nova de Famalicao District Hospital, between July/89-June/90 and July/91-June/92. We were interested in assessing the spectrum of occurring micro-organisms in urinary tract infections, their antibiotic susceptibility, especially to those more frequently used in clinical practice in this institution and their evolution in time. In conclusion, the prevalence of isolated pathogens was quite similar to the spectrum published by other authors for a hospital population. No significant variation was found in the bacterial population between the two periods analysed, if we exclude the great increase in coagulase-negative staphylococci. In terms of benefits/costs/resistance, we concluded that the best antibiotic for the beginning of therapy in this Hospital is cotrimoxazole. Good choices were also quinolones, third-generation cephalosporins or aminoglycosides, but with the disadvantages of greater cost for the first two and toxicity for the last.