Urinary tract infections in adults

Quality statements

Statement 1 Women aged under 65 years are diagnosed with a urinary tract infection (UTI) if they have 2 or more key urinary symptoms and no other excluding causes or warning signs. [new 2023]

Statement 2 Adults with indwelling urinary catheters do not have dipstick testing to diagnose UTIs. [2015, updated 2023]

Statement 3 Men and non-pregnant women are not prescribed antibiotics to treat asymptomatic bacteriuria. [2015, updated 2023]

Statement 4 Non-pregnant women with an uncomplicated lower UTI are prescribed a 3-day course of antibiotics, and men and pregnant women with an uncomplicated lower UTI are prescribed a 7-day course of antibiotics. [new 2023]

Statement 5 Men with a recurrent UTI, and women with a recurrent lower UTI where the cause is unknown or a recurrent upper UTI are referred for specialist advice. [new 2023]

In 2023 this quality standard was updated and statements prioritised in 2015 were updated (2015, updated 2023) or replaced (new 2023). For more information, see update information.

The previous version of the quality standard for urinary tract infections in adults is available as a pdf.