[Characteristics of urinary tract infections in different patient subpopulations and depending on the bladder emptying system]. / Características de las infecciones urinarias en pacientes con vejiga neurógena según el sistema de vaciado vesical utilizado en comparación con pacientes sin vejiga neurógena.

INTRODUCTION: To analyze the prevalence and etiology of urinary tract infection in patients with neurogenic bladder depending on the bladder emptying system used as compared to a population with no neurological impairment. To assess perception of urinary tract infection by patients with neurogenic bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An epidemiological and prospective study was conducted on 283 patients, in whom a total of 283 urethral cultures were performed. Of these, 106 came from patients with neurological damage, 28 from a control group with no neurological impairment, 74 from patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of our hospital, and 75 from patients who attended the emergency room for symptoms of acute urinary tract infection. The sensitivity and specificity of patient perception as indicative of urinary tract infection was analyzed using ROC curves. RESULTS: Positive urethral cultures were found in 66% of patients with neurological damage and 25% of control patients. Within the neurological group, patients with the highest rates of positive urethral cultures were those with myelomeningocele (MMC) (81.5%) and spinal cord injuries (71.7%), with a statistically significant difference (p=0.01). The microorganism most commonly found in all subgroups was Escherichia coli, followed by Enterococcus faecalis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the neurological subgroup, Enterococcus faecalis and Proteus mirabilis in the control subgroup, and Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus agalactiae in the emergency room subgroup. In the ICU subgroup, the most commonly found microorganism was Enterococcus faecalis, followed by Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Sensitivity for perception by neurological patients as an indication of the presence of urinary tract infection was 97.2%, as compared to 80% in the control group. Specificity was low in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: E. coli was the microorganism found in positive urethral cultures from all subgroups, except in the ICU group. The groups with the highest urinary tract infection rates were patients with MMC and spinal cord injuries. Sensitivity and specificity (as measured using ROC curves) for perception by neurological patients as an indication of the presence of urinary tract infection was higher in neurological patients than in the non-neurological control group (p=0.0004, area: 0.643).