A Pilot Survey of Undiagnosed Urinary Tract Infections on Admission to a Rehabilitation Unit.

Many patients admitted to Rehabilitation Units are at risk of developing urinary tract infections (UTI) due to the effects of the acute event, and co-morbidities. We conducted a 6 month survey of all patients (n =79) admitted to the Redcliffe Hospital Rehabilitation Unit and found that approximately 1/3 of those patients had an undiagnosed UTI. UTI's in this patient group can be difficult to diagnose due to cognitive and communication impairments that prevent the patient reporting symptoms, and the fact that elderly patients do not always display multiple or explicit symptoms of UTI. Therefore, it is necessary for nurses practicing in all settings, including rehabilitation, to be aware of the sometimes subtle indicators that their patient may have a UTI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]