MicUTI

MicUTI is a randomized trial to improve the diagnosis of urinary tract infections in primary care. It is carried out together with general practitioners of the Bavarian Practice Based Research Network (BayFoNet) and with the Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology of the University of Würzburg. Cooperation partners are the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research (University of Bremen, Germany), the Academic Unit of Primary Care (University of Bristol, UK), The Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (University of Georgia, US) and the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health (Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain).

In the vast majority of cases, women with symptoms suggestive for an uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) are treated with antibiotics. Studies showed that up to 50% of women symptoms resolve spontaneously, and therefore they may not benefit from antibiotics. The aim of this study is to pilot a full-scaled primary care RCT to evaluate the effects of diagnosis and treatment strategy based on a combination of phase-contrast microscopy and urinary dipsticks on antibiotic use in women presenting to their general practitioner with symptoms of an uncomplicated UTI.

To date, over the last months, twenty general practices recruited 150 patients to take part in the study.

Involved parties in the MicUTI-Project

Operating Departments/Institutes

• Department of General Practice (Coordination), University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
• Institute of General Practice, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany
• Institute of General Practice, Klinikum der Ludwigs-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
• Institute for Hygiene and Microbiology, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

National partners

• Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Guido Schmiemann, Institute of Public Health and Nursing Research, Department of Health Services Research, University of Bremen, Germany

International partners

• Prof. Mark Herbert Ebell, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America
• Prof. Adolfo Figueiras, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• Prof. Alastair D Hay, Academic Unit of Primary Health Care, NIHR National School for Primary Care Research, Department of Community Based Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom