Urinary Tract Infection and Its Risk Factors in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is common health issue all over the world and several factors predispose the people to urinary tract infection. Objective: The study aimed at determining the incidence of Urinary tract infection and factors associated with it. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed among 205 patients in a tertiary care hospital of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Simple convenient sampling and an established inclusion and exclusion criteria was applied to select the participants. After obtaining the informed consent from all participants, data was acquired via a self-designed proforma. Data analysis was carried out through SPSS version 25. Chi square test was applied to check the association between urinary tract infection and predisposing factors. The p-value less than 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Results: The incidence of urinary tract infection was 12.68%. Urinary tract infection was significantly associated age group (p=0.003), gender (p=0.001), marital status (p=0.004), educational status (p=0.0001), socioeconomic status (p=0.005), previous history of UTI (p=0.0002), family history of UTI (p=0.0004), history of stone in urinary tract (p=0.003), history of recent use of antibiotics (p=0.04), history of catheterization (p=0.001), hygienic condition of external genitalia (p=0.0005), frequency of intercourse (p=0.04),  history of diabetes mellitus (p=0.002), and hydration status (p=0.0007), whereas, association of urinary tract infection with holding urine was insignificant (p=0.05). Conclusion: The incidence of urinary tract infection was high among research population. Risk factors that could lead to UTI were young age, female gender, married marital status, lower educational status, lower socioeconomic status, previous history of UTI, family history of UTI, history of stone in urinary tract, history of recent use of antibiotics, history of catheterization, poor hygienic condition of external genitalia, high frequency of intercourse, history of diabetes mellitus, and dehydration. Recommendations: People should be educated about the UTI and its causes and prevention. People should also take special care when they are on antibiotics or when they are diabetics, to prevent UTI. People should maintain hygiene when they are catheterized and during intercourse. People should stay hydrated.