Guidance

Terms used in the guideline

Terms used in the guideline

Recurrent urinary tract infection

Recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in adults is defined as repeated UTI with a frequency of 2 or more UTIs in the last 6 months or 3 or more UTIs in the last 12 months (European Association of Urology [EAU] guidelines on urological infections [2017]).

Recurrent UTI is diagnosed in children and young people under 16 years if they have:

  • 2 or more episodes of UTI with acute pyelonephritis/upper UTI or

  • 1 episode of UTI with acute pyelonephritis plus 1 or more episode of UTI with cystitis/lower UTI or

  • 3 or more episodes of UTI with cystitis/lower UTI.

See the NICE guideline on urinary tract infection in under 16s.

Trigger

Some people (mainly women) may be able to identify 1 or more triggers (for example, sexual intercourse) that often brings on a UTI. These triggers may vary for different people.

  • National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)