Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Aug 2011
ReviewDiagnosis and management of urinary tract infection and pyelonephritis.
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common bacterial infections treated in the outpatient setting and range in severity from minimally symptomatic cystitis to severe septic shock in a wide array of patients. Diagnosis of uncomplicated cystitis can be inferred from history and physical, and confirmed by urinalysis. ⋯ Treatment can be further tailored according to severity of illness, analysis of individualized risk factors, and antimicrobial resistance patterns. This article discusses treatment options in light of bacterial resistance in the twenty-first century.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Aug 2011
ReviewEmergency department management of sexually transmitted infections.
Patients seeking treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) account for a large number of emergency department (ED) visits per year. Despite the large volume of patients, STIs are often missed or treated inappropriately. ⋯ This practice leads to overtreatment of STIs; however, when weighed against the public health risk and complications of untreated disease, empiric treatment is recommended. This article provides an overview of STIs encountered in the ED and recommendations for their treatment.