Prevalence of Urinary Tract Infections and Associated Risk Factors Among Patients Attending Medical City Hospital in Baghdad City, Iraq

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infection in humans and a major cause of morbidity and they are the most common cause of hospital visits worldwide. Proper knowledge in identifying factors associated with urinary tract infection may allow the intervention to easily control of the disease in a timely manner. Therefore, the purpose of the study is determining the prevalence of UTI, diagnosis of causative bacterial agents and identifying the factors associated to the urinary tract infection among patients attending Medical City Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq. A total of 237, morning mid-stream urine samples were collected aseptically and the samples were diagnosed according to the standard methods. Information about the factors related to UTI were obtained by using questionnaire. Prevalence of UTI patients attending medical city hospital in Baghdad was 63/237 (26.58%). The most prevalent bacterial uropathogen was Escherichia coli with 21/63 (33.33%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae 13/63 (20.63%), Staphylococcus aureus 10/63 (15.87%), Enterococcus faecalis 8/63(12.70%), Enterobacter cloacae 4/63(6.35%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa 3/63 (4.763.5%), Proteus mirabilis 3/63 (4.763.5%), finally 1/63 (1.59%) for Proteus vulgaris. The results showed significant relationships (P <0.05) between hospital (department), sex, age and lower abdominal or back pain with urinary tract infection. Prevalence of bacterial causing UTIs were higher in the age group 30-39 with 16/63 (25.40%) and there was a significant association between hospital (department), sex, age and lower abdominal or back pain with UTI.