Assessment of Urinary Tract Infections Among Female Patients Attending Ruhengeri Referral Hospital

Background:  Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the inflammatory disorders of the urinary tract caused by the abnormal growth of pathogens. UTI is known to cause short-term morbidity in terms of fever, dysuria, and lower abdominal pain (LAP) and may result in permanent scarring of the kidney. The presence of bacteria in the urine, known as bacteriuria, may be indicative of infection or colonization of the urinary tract, but it may also be due to bacterial contamination occurring during collection of a specimen. Aim: The present study was done in order to identify the bacteria causing UTI from female patients. Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted on female patients who were attending Ruhengeri Referral Hospital in a period of two months from October to November 2021. Urine samples were collected from patients who were requested to urinary test with respect to standard procedures. Samples were processed and analyzed at INES-Ruhengeri microbiology laboratory where gram stain and culture as well as biochemical test were performed in order to make microbial identification. From the results patients who were found with UTI, their structured questionnaire was taken into consideration in order to determine the associated risk factors.  Results: The outcomes of the study indicated that E.coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa, Enterobacter ssp and S. saprophyticus were isolated from patients urine sample where E. coli is more present in patients sample where it has been found at 60%(18) samples. The least isolated bacteria in patient’s samples are Enterrobacter spp and S. saprophyticus at frequency of 2(6.7) per each bacterium. The risk factor associated with urinary tract infection in female patients attended Ruhengeri-referral-hospital in a period of study, the results indicated that douching in secret parts twice a day is associated with UTI with P-value equivalent to 0.001. Conclusion: This study was intended to assess the UTI among female patients. The study findings indicated that E.coli, K. pneumonia, P. aeruginosa, Enterobacter ssp and S. saprophyticus are more likely to be found in urinary tract of female. The study finding has indicated also that poor hygienic life style increases the risk of being infected by UTIs.