A tip for potential UTIs

Taking cipro is taking a chance. It should not be used for dementia patients, although many doctors don't know that. It's up to us to let them know about that.

Are there any reasons that a person with dementia should not take Augmentin (Amox/Clav)? My husband has been taking it for 5 days and the UTI confusion symptoms have not gone away. He was prescribed Cefdiner initially and had taken that for 4 days until the culture came back showing Enterococcus bacteria. I have been unable to get another urine sample but using a home test strip pressed into slit in an incontinence pad is still showing positive. (Not very scientific or uncontaminated sample, but has proved to be a good indicator in the past when followed up with an actual sample.

We went to an urgent care facility for the analysis because we were unable to get into his PCP for several days and the only other choice was ER, not a pleasant experience with 4 and 5 hour waits with an incontinent person. Help please.

MaggieMae, from what I'm seeing, that infection is one of the resistant types. I think maybe you should go back to the doctor to see if there is another treatment that might work. It really has to be cleared up. I'm sorry.

Hi Ed.

Why shouldn't Cipro be taken?

The major risks from the link aside, adding any GI upset from antibiotics is not something I would introduce without knowing if it was needed. The physicians I worked with for my mom and now my dad have made it really easy to get a urine test done properly. They have given us the sterile cups to take home. When I suspected UTI I would use the patient portal to tell them and they would put the orders in. We would collect a sample at home (being very careful about washing before touching it and not introducing outside bacteria) and then I would drop it off at the clinic. They have also been good about putting lab orders in at the clinic closest to home so we can stop in and then the doctor will communicate via the patient portal and prescribe as necessary. We have done countless samples via these two methods and had cultures done to inform the doctor and make sure the abx is both necessary and will be effective. And yes, of course it's always a Friday afternoon when things flare up. If I had any suspicion of an infection I tried to get a sample in before the clinic closed. If it's part of a larger health system the sample often goes to a main lab for culture and usually gets processed over the weekend just fine. Then I would use the portal to view the results and contact the on call doctor to look at it and prescribe.

Nowadays a culture may not be needed. Many labs do PCR testing to identify the infecting organisms by their DNA. Results take 6-8 hours.

After spending the afternoon at the ER and getting blood tests and having them obtain a urine sample, I found out that the Augmentin is effective and the infection is decreasing but the UTI is not gone yet. The doctor prescribed an additional 3 days of the antibiotic, (he had another couple days to go on the 7 day prescription) He was very shaky and having trouble with walking and balance when we arrived at the ER. Some was probably nerves, after a long ride, but a lot caused by the infection I think. It was very unnerving. Thank you all for your comments.