Increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria hinders treatment of kidney infections

The increase in illnesses and deaths linked to medication-resistant bacteria has been well-documented by researchers and received extensive public attention in recent years. Now, UCLA-led research shows how these bacteria are making it more difficult to treat a common but severe kidney infection.Pyelonephritis — infection of the kidney usually caused by E. coli bacteria and which can start as a urinary tract infection — causes fever, back pain and vomiting. About half of people infected require hospitalization. If not treated with effective antibiotics, it can cause sepsis and death.In a UCLA-led study based on data from 10 large hospital emergency departments around the country, almost 12 percent of people diagnosed with pyelonephritis had infections resistant to the standard class of antibiotic used in treatment — fluoroquinolone. (Cipro and its generic version ciprofloxacin are commonly used medications in this class.) That’s up from 4 percent in a similar study conducted a decade ago. In some cities, and among some people with certain risk factors — such as international travel or recent hospitaliza tion or treatment with an antibiotic — fluoroquinolone resistance rates exceeded 20 percent.The newstudy— published in the September issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases — also documents the emergence of infections caused by a specific strain of E. coli that is resistant to additional types of antibiotics, severely limiting treatment options. That strain,...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news