Ask the Expert: Questions and Answers about Complicated UTIs (cUTIs)

EspañolIf having a simple urinary tract infection (UTI) is unpleasant, does a complicated UTI (cUTI) feel unpleasant in a more confusing way? Urologist Katherine Klos, M.D., empathizes with patients who visit her office with any kind of UTI, whether it’s regular, recurrent or complicated. “No UTI is pleasant,” Klos said. “Complicated just means the infection has spread and created a greater risk for sepsis.”We spoke with Klos and asked her to explain what makes a UTI complicated, and why cUTIs are more urgent to treat. What are cUTIs and how are they different from recurrent UTIs? We think of UTIs as recurrent when a patient has two UTIs within six months or three UTIs within a year. A cUTI means the infection has spread outside the bladder, and that puts the patient at risk for sepsis, which is a life-threatening response to an infection.With recurrent UTIs, we’re talking about their frequency or how often they happen. With cUTIs, we’re talking about the spread of the infection. Fortunately, cUTIs are less common.What are the symptoms of cUTIS, and are they different from uncomplicated UTIs? We can tell a UTI is complicated when we see symptoms like fever, chills, kidney pain or a...