European Association of Urology Guidelines on Urological Infections: Summary of the 2024 Guidelines

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Urological infections significantly impact the wellbeing and quality of life of individuals owing to their widespread occurrence and diverse clinical manifestations. The objective of the guidelines panel was to provide evidence-based guidance on the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and male accessory-gland infections, while addressing crucial public health aspects related to infection control and antimicrobial stewardship.

METHODS

For the 2024 guidelines on urological infections, new and relevant evidence was identified, collated, and appraised via a structured assessment of the literature. Databases searched included Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Libraries. Recommendations within the guidelines were developed by the panel to prioritise clinically important care decisions. The strength of each recommendation was determined according to a balance between desirable and undesirable consequences of alternative management strategies, the quality of the evidence (including the certainty of estimates), and the nature and variability of patient values and preferences.

KEY FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS

Key recommendations emphasise the importance of a thorough medical history and physical examination for patients with urological infections. The guidelines stress the role of antimicrobial stewardship to combat the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, providing recommendations for antibiotic selection, dosing, and duration on the basis of the latest evidence.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

This overview of the 2024 EAU guidelines offers valuable insights into managing urological infections and are designed for effective integration into clinical practice.

PATIENT SUMMARY

The European Association of Urology has issued an updated guideline on urological infections. The guidelines provide recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, with a particular focus on minimising antibiotic use because of the increasing global threat of antimicrobial resistance.

Real-world evaluation of imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam across US medical centres

We assessed 160 patients who received imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam for ≥2 days. At treatment initiation, the median Charlson Comorbidity Index was 5, 45% were in the intensive care unit, and 19% required vasopressor support. The in-hospital mortality rate was 24%. These data advance our understanding of real-world indications and outcomes of imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam use.

Staphylococcus simulans: A rare uropathogen

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are clinically and economically burdensome. Gram positive causative uropathogens are rare, and Staphylococcus simulans has infrequently been isolated as a causative agent for UTIs. Here, we present two cases of S. simulans causing complicated urinary tract infections.

Cefiderocol to treat complicated urinary tract infection

On November 14, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cefiderocol, a siderophore-cephalosporin conjugate antibiotic, for the treatment of adults with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTIs), including kidney infections caused by susceptible Gram-negative microorganisms, who have limited or no alternative treatment options. The approval was based on substantial preclinical and clinical data, including in vitro and in vivo work, as well as pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies that established cefiderocol as an effective agent for the treatment of cUTI. This paper reviews that work and looks ahead to determine how cefiderocol might be used by clinicians in the future.

Efficacy and safety of levofloxacin as a treatment for complicated urinary tract infections and pyelonephritis

INTRODUCTION

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common causes of sepsis presenting to hospitals. Treating complicated UTIs is extremely important due to their potential mortality. Levofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone antibacterial that has become one of the cornerstones of antibiotic therapy of complicated UTIs and pyelonephritis since its introduction in the 1990s because of its exceptional pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) profile. However, the emergence of widespread fluoroquinolone resistance over the past decade has prompted investigators to reexamine its place in the treatment of UTI.

AREAS COVERED

This literature review summarizes data about the efficacy and the tolerability of levofloxacin in treating complicated UTIs and pyelonephritis.

EXPERT OPINION

In the early 2000s, fluoroquinolones became the most commonly prescribed antibiotic in the US. Since then, the resistance rate of Escherichia coli to fluoroquinolones has increased, largely hampering the use of this class of drugs. These data, in association with emerging data about inappropriate prescription and toxicity, have limited its clinical use. For these reasons, a judicious use of levofloxacin and other fluoroquinolones and a careful implementation of infection control procedures are the main available tools for the management of UTIs and pyelonephritis.

Prevalence, predictors, and consequences of inappropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy for complicated urinary tract and intra-abdominal infections in Winnipeg hospitals

Information on inappropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy (ET) in Canadian hospitals is scarce. All Manitobans 18 years of age and over who were admitted to a hospital in Winnipeg with a complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI) or complicated intra-abdominal infection (cIAI) from January 2006 to December 2014 were eligible for inclusion in this cohort study. The prevalence of inappropriate ET was 11% for cUTI patients and 9% for cIAI patients. The risk of receiving inappropriate ET was higher for older patients (cUTI patients 65 or older had 2-fold increased risk compared to younger patients; odds ratio 2.1, 95% confidence interval 1.3-3.6; this was 1.6 [0.7-3.5] for cIAI patients) and those hospitalized in the previous year: 1.5 (1.0-2.4) in cUTIs and 1.5 (0.6-3.4) in cIAIs. The risk for a hospital stay over 3 weeks was increased for inappropriate ET in cUTI patients, 2.3 (1.4-3.7), but not in cIAI patients, 0.9 (0.4-2.1).

Analysis of patients with diabetes and complicated intra-abdominal infection or complicated urinary tract infection in phase 3 trials of ceftolozane/tazobactam

Background

Diabetes mellitus and hyperglycemia are associated with increased susceptibility to bacterial infections and poor treatment outcomes. This post hoc evaluation of the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) and complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) aimed to evaluate baseline characteristics, efficacy, and safety in patients with and without diabetes treated with ceftolozane/tazobactam and comparators. Ceftolozane/tazobactam is an antibacterial with potent activity against Gram-negative pathogens and is approved for the treatment of cIAI (with metronidazole) and cUTI (including pyelonephritis).

Methods

Patients from the phase 3 ASPECT studies with (n = 245) and without (n = 1802) diabetes were compared to evaluate the baseline characteristics, efficacy, and safety of ceftolozane/tazobactam and active comparators.

Results

Significantly more patients with than without diabetes were 65 years of age or older; patients with diabetes were also more likely to weigh ≥75 kg at baseline (57.1% vs 44.5%), to have renal impairment (48.5% vs 30.2%), or to have APACHE II scores ≥10 (33.8% vs 17.0%). More patients with diabetes had comorbidities and an increased incidence of complicating factors in both cIAI and cUTI. Clinical cIAI and composite cure cUTI rates across study treatments were lower in patients with than without diabetes (cIAI, 75.4% vs 86.1%, P = 0.0196; cUTI, 62.4% vs 74.7%, P = 0.1299) but were generally similar between the ceftolozane/tazobactam and active comparator treatment groups. However, significantly higher composite cure rates were reported with ceftolozane/tazobactam than with levofloxacin in patients without diabetes with cUTI (79.5% vs 69.9%; P = 0.0048). Significantly higher rates of adverse events observed in patients with diabetes were likely due to comorbidities because treatment-related adverse events were similar between groups.

Conclusions

In this post hoc analysis, patients with diabetes in general were older, heavier, and had a greater number of complicating comorbidities. Patients with diabetes had lower cure rates and a significantly higher frequency of adverse events than patients without diabetes, likely because of the higher rates of medical complications in this subgroup. Ceftolozane/tazobactam was shown to be at least as effective as comparators in treating cUTI and cIAI in this population.

Trial registration

cIAI, NCT01445665 and NCT01445678 (both trials registered prospectively on September 26, 2011); cUTI, NCT01345929 and NCT01345955 (both trials registered prospectively on April 28, 2011).

Retrospective observational study to assess the clinical management and outcomes of hospitalised patients with complicated urinary tract infection in countries with high prevalence of multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria (RESCUING)

INTRODUCTION

The emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), including carbapenemase-producing strains, has become a major therapeutic challenge. These MDR isolates are often involved in complicated urinary tract infection (cUTI), and are associated with poor clinical outcomes. The study has been designed to gain insight into the epidemiology, clinical management, outcome and healthcare cost of patients with cUTI, especially in countries with high prevalence of MDR GNB.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

This multinational and multicentre observational, retrospective study will identify cases from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2014 in order to collect data on patients with cUTI as a cause of hospital admission, and patients who develop cUTI during their hospital stay. The primary end point will be treatment failure defined as the presence of any of the following criteria: (1) signs or symptoms of cUTI present at diagnosis that have not improved by days 5-7 with appropriate antibiotic therapy, (2) new cUTI-related symptoms that have developed within 30 days of diagnosis, (3) urine culture taken within 30 days of diagnosis, either during or after completion of therapy, that grows ≥10(4) colony-forming unit/mL of the original pathogen and (4) death irrespective of cause within 30 days of the cUTI diagnosis.

SAMPLE SIZE

1000 patients afford a power of 0.83 (α=0.05) to detect an absolute difference of 10% in the treatment failure rate between MDR bacteria and other pathogens. This should allow for the introduction of about 20 independent risk factors (or their interaction) in a logistic regression model looking at risk factors for failure.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Approval will be sought from all relevant Research Ethics Committees. Publication of this study will be considered as a joint publication by the participating investigator leads, and will follow the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT02641015; Pre-results.