NICE Quality Standard - Urinary tract infections in adults (15 February 2023)

Summary

This Quality Standard from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been updated to instruct healthcare professionals to diagnose women under the age of 65 with a urinary tract infection (UTI) if they have two or more key symptoms.

Content

The new standard replaces its predecessor that was published in 2015 and includes five key statements:

• Women under the age of 65 should be diagnosed with a UTI if they present two or more key urinary symptoms and have no alternative causes or warning signs.
• Adults with indwelling urinary catheters shouldn’t have dipstick testing to diagnose UTIs.
• Men and non-pregnant women shouldn’t be prescribed antibiotics as a treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria.
• Non-pregnant women with uncomplicated lower UTIs should be prescribed three-day courses of antibiotics, whilst pregnant women and men with uncomplicated lower UTIs should be prescribed antibiotics for seven days.
• Men with recurrent UTIs, and women with recurrent lower UTIs where the cause hasn’t been identified or who have recurrent upper UTIs should be directed to specialist advice.