Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common maladies afflicting\nthe human population globally. A wide variety of microbial pathogens\nare responsible for causing UTIs that are often recurrent, especially in the elderly\npopulation, resulting in an economic burden of billions of dollars annually.\nIn this study, we present data from a large population of symptomatic\nUTI patients tested using a multiplexed, real time quantitative polymerase\nchain reaction (qRT-PCR) strategy. Our data demonstrate that instances of\nUTI increase with age for all the tested pathogens, with the exception of Mycoplasma\nspp. and Ureaplasma spp., which were found to be significantly\nhigher in the younger population. Furthermore, the use of the qRT-PCR approach\nwas also found to be effective in detecting polymicrobial UTIs. With\nthe limitations of classical microbial culture techniques traditionally used for\nUTI diagnosis, we demonstrate that a rapid and comprehensive technique\nlike RT-PCR can be an effective tool for detecting and managing UTIs.
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