Understanding Urinary Tract Infections in Older Men: A Comprehensive Patient Guide

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Why UTIs Matter for Older Men
• The Clinical Problem: How Common Are UTIs in Older Men?
• Diagnosis and Evaluation: Finding the Source of Infection
• Strategies and Evidence: Treatment Approaches
• Management: Specific Treatment Recommendations
• Key Clinical Points for Patients
• Limitations and Considerations
• Patient Recommendations and Action Steps
• Source Information

Introduction: Why UTIs Matter for Older Men

This article addresses a common but often misunderstood health issue for aging men: urinary tract infections. The case example presented involves a 79-year-old man living independently who developed urinary frequency, painful urination (dysuria), and fever. His urine culture revealed extended-spectrum beta-lactamase Escherichia coli, the same bacteria that caused a previous infection months earlier that responded to nitrofurantoin treatment.

This scenario illustrates the complex nature of UTIs in older men, which require careful evaluation and management. Unlike younger men, older men experience significantly higher rates of UTIs due to age-related changes in the urinary system and other health factors.

The Clinical Problem: How Common Are UTIs in Older Men?

Urinary tract infections in men without catheters are uncommon before age 60 but increase substantially among men 60 years or older. The reported incidence shows a dramatic age-related pattern:

• 0.9 to 2.4 cases per 1000 men among those younger than 55 years
• 7.7 cases per 1000 men among those 85 years or older

The frequency of severe presentations requiring hospitalization also increases with age. UTIs represent the most common cause of bacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream) in older men, although death directly attributed to UTI is infrequent. Recurrent infections are more common in older men than younger men, but long-term kidney damage is rare unless urinary obstruction exists.

While the incidence of all UTIs among older men is approximately half that among older women, infection rates among men over 80 approach those of women in the same age range. Asymptomatic bacteriuria (bacteria in urine without symptoms) is uncommon in younger men but affects up to 10% of community-dwelling men over 80 and 15-40% of male residents in long-term care facilities.

Antimicrobial treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria is not recommended as it promotes antibiotic resistance. As men age, they develop structural and functional abnormalities that impair normal urination, most commonly benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate), which can cause UTIs due to obstruction and turbulent urine flow.

Diagnosis and Evaluation: Finding the Source of Infection

Proper diagnosis begins with recognizing different infection patterns. Cystitis (bladder infection) typically causes irritative symptoms including painful urination, urinary frequency, urgency, nighttime urination (nocturia), suprapubic discomfort, and occasionally visible blood in urine. Pyelonephritis (kidney infection) usually involves fever, back pain or tenderness, and various lower urinary tract symptoms.

Acute bacterial prostatitis (prostate infection) typically manifests as fever and lower urinary tract symptoms, sometimes with obstructive uropathy. Chronic bacterial prostatitis may appear as recurrent acute cystitis when bacteria from the prostate reenter the urethra and bladder.

Urine culture is essential for management. To avoid overtreating asymptomatic bacteriuria, urine specimens should only be obtained from men with symptoms potentially attributable to UTI. Specimens must be collected before starting antimicrobial therapy.

A voided midstream urine specimen obtained with proper hygiene (retracting foreskin and wiping the glans with moist gauze) is usually adequate. For quantitative diagnosis:

• ≥100,000 colony-forming units (CFUs) of a single organism per milliliter confirms infection
• ≥1,000 CFUs/ml of a single organism may also indicate infection depending on context
• For ureteral catheterization specimens, ≥100 CFUs/ml is diagnostic

Pyuria (white blood cells in urine) is nonspecific in older patients but its absence has a negative predictive value of 95% or more for ruling out infection.

For initial UTI episodes, evaluation of the entire urinary tract is recommended due to the high prevalence of urological abnormalities in men with UTIs. Residual urine volume should be assessed by noninvasive ultrasonography, with 100 ml or more generally considered abnormal.

Febrile patients require immediate upper urinary tract assessment by computed tomography (CT) with contrast or renal ultrasonography to rule out obstruction. In one Swedish study, 15 of 85 men presenting with febrile UTI had previously unrecognized lesions requiring surgical intervention.

Identifying the same bacterial strain in repeat infections suggests bacterial persistence within the urinary tract. Chronic bacterial prostatitis can be confirmed using the four-glass Meares-Stamey test or the simpler two-glass test, which shows >95% correlation with the more complex method.

Strategies and Evidence: Treatment Approaches

Antimicrobial treatment selection depends on clinical presentation, suspected organism, medication side effects, and kidney function. Agents with high urinary excretion should be used. For cystitis, first-line therapies include:

• Nitrofurantoin (7 days)
• Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (7 days)
• Ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin (7 days)

Nitrofurantoin works for cystitis but has limited tissue penetration and isn't effective for kidney or prostate infections. Initial treatment for acute pyelonephritis typically uses ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ceftriaxone, or gentamicin for 7-14 days.

If cultures reveal resistance to initial therapy, alternative effective agents should be given regardless of clinical response, as initial improvement may occur due to high antibiotic levels in urine followed by relapse after treatment.

Despite the likelihood of prostate involvement, treatment outcomes for febrile UTI are similar with 2-week and 4-week courses. Acute bacterial prostatitis requires broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics such as extended-spectrum penicillins, ceftriaxone with or without an aminoglycoside, or fluoroquinolones.

Approximately 25% of patients with acute bacterial prostatitis have bacteremia, and 5-10% may have prostate abscesses. Difficulty urinating is common, and alpha-blocker therapy may help, with some patients temporarily requiring catheterization.

Management: Specific Treatment Recommendations

Chronic bacterial prostatitis develops after acute infection in about 5% of men and typically requires 30 days of antibiotics, usually fluoroquinolones or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin are equally effective.

Research comparing different levofloxacin regimens (750 mg daily for 2 weeks, 750 mg daily for 3 weeks, or 500 mg daily for 4 weeks) in men with chronic prostatitis showed similar immediate efficacy (63-69% response), but at 6 months the response rate was significantly higher with the 4-week regimen (45% vs. 28% with shorter regimens).

For patients who cannot take standard therapies, options are limited since many antibiotics don't reach effective levels in the prostate. Macrolides, fosfomycin, and minocycline or other tetracyclines may penetrate the prostate and help susceptible organisms in some patients.

Patients with obstructive uropathy might consider transurethral resection to improve flow, though surgical outcomes haven't been critically evaluated. Long-term suppressive therapy or self-initiated antimicrobial therapy when symptoms develop may be prescribed, though randomized trial data are lacking to guide this approach.

Key Clinical Points for Patients

• Prevalence increases with age: Bacteriuria and UTI incidence are substantially higher among older men than younger men
• Underlying abnormalities common: Most older men with UTI have underlying urologic abnormalities
• Location matters: Effective treatment requires determining whether infection is in kidney, bladder, or prostate
• Culture-guided therapy: Management requires antimicrobial selection based on urine culture results
• Prolonged treatment needed: Chronic bacterial prostatitis requires 30 days of antimicrobial therapy
• Suppressive therapy option: Men with recurrent episodes without correctable abnormalities may need long-term suppressive antimicrobial therapy

Limitations and Considerations

This review acknowledges several important limitations in our current understanding of UTIs in older men. Randomized trials have not specifically compared treatment outcomes between men and women, as most study results aren't stratified by sex. The false negative rate for initial testing to localize infection to the prostate is not well established.

Additionally, data from randomized clinical trials are needed to compare therapies for acute bacterial prostatitis and define optimal treatment duration. For long-term suppressive therapy in patients with recurrent infections, limited randomized trial data exist to guide treatment decisions.

Clinical evaluation is particularly challenging in institutionalized patients due to compromised functional status, communication difficulties, and the high frequency of chronic urinary symptoms from conditions like prostate enlargement or incontinence related to neurologic diseases.

Patient Recommendations and Action Steps

Based on this comprehensive review, patients should:

1. Seek prompt evaluation for urinary symptoms including frequency, pain, fever, or back discomfort
2. Ensure proper urine collection before starting antibiotics for accurate diagnosis
3. Complete full antibiotic courses as prescribed, especially for prostate infections requiring 30 days of treatment
4. Follow up with urological evaluation for recurrent infections to identify underlying abnormalities
5. Discuss antibiotic resistance concerns with providers, especially if previous infections involved resistant organisms
6. Consider preventive strategies for recurrent infections, including possible long-term suppressive therapy when appropriate

Patients should be aware that asymptomatic bacteriuria generally should not be treated, as antibiotic treatment in these cases promotes resistance without providing benefit.

Source Information

Original Article Title: Urinary Tract Infections in Older Men
Authors: Anthony J. Schaeffer, M.D. and Lindsay E. Nicolle, M.D.
Publication: The New England Journal of Medicine, 2016;374:562-71
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMcp1503950

This patient-friendly article is based on peer-reviewed research from The New England Journal of Medicine and provides comprehensive information about urinary tract infections in older men, including all key data, statistics, and clinical recommendations from the original publication.