Urinary Tract Infections in Spinal Cord Injuries

A person with a spinal cord injury (SCI) may have a spastic bladder that empties when reflexes signal it's full. Or he may have a flaccid bladder that bulges with urine because normal reflexes are absent. Both conditions increase the risk of urinary tract infection (UTI).

• Drinking extra fluids can help fight urinary tract infections in people with SCI.

Risk Factors

• A person with an SCI may have an indwelling urinary catheter that allows bacteria to travel up the tube and into the normally sterile bladder.

Bladder Program

• When a person with a SCI wants to control her urine, she may catheterize herself periodically by inserting a thin tube into the bladder to remove urine. In other cases, a caregiver may insert the catheter. While urine is normally sterile, catheterization can introduce bacteria into the bladder.

Symptoms

• A UTI in a person with an SCI causes the urine to become cloudy, foul-smelling, gritty, and pink or red with blood. There may also be bodywide effects such as fever, low back pain, and nausea.

Treatment

• UTIs can be effectively treated with antibiotics and increased oral fluids.

Prevention

• A person with early signs of a UTI should increase her oral fluid intake and catheterize herself more frequently to remove bacteria from the body.