Table 3.

Testing and Treatment Considerations for UTIs

Issue	Consideration
Urinary dipstick testing	Should be used primarily to rule out a UTI, not to establish a diagnosis of UTI In a patient with a low pretest probability of UTI, if the dipstick is negative for leukocyte esterase and nitrites, it excludes the presence of infection and eliminates the need to obtain a laboratory-based urinalysis and urine culture26–28
Antibiotic treatment	In 25%–50% of women presenting with UTI, symptoms will have recovered or will show spontaneous improvement in 1 week without using antibiotics29
Supportive treatments	Diuretics should be avoided in older women with urinary incontinence Women with urinary urgency are often told to restrict fluid intake, leading to dehydration30 When the diagnosis of symptomatic UTI is in doubt, delaying antibiotic treatment for 1 week but offering supportive treatment such as increased fluid intake is an acceptable therapeutic option29

Abbreviation: UTI, urinary tract infection.