The effect of anal hygiene method in prevention from recurrent lower urinary tract infections in women

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the effects stopping the use of water and hands on preventing urinary tract infections (UTI) for a group of female patients having recurrent UTIs (rUTI). Material and Method: A retrospective observational study conducted in a tertiary care hospital between February 2017 and March 2018. 273 female patients which had rUTIs without any concomitant risk factors were included. In the study, 2 or more bacteriologically documented UTIs in the last 6 months were accepted as rUTI. The groups of the study defined as using their hands, using water only and using toilet paper (using either one of these two methods and then using toilet paper). Patients were observed for an average time of 10.4 months after stopping the use of water and hands for anal cleansing after defecation. Instead they were all given toilet education and started wiping for anal hygiene. Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between previous history of UTI and washing with hands + water (p=0.021). The rate of previous UTIs were significantly higher in the group of patients using their hands for anal washing (69% vs 31%). No relation was found between previous UTI history variable for using toilet paper and flushing with water only (p>0.05). Our results showed a statistically significant decrease of UTIs after stopping the use of water and hands in the patient group who had a previous UTI history (p=0.001). Conclusion: We managed to underline that washing with hands for anal cleansing as a risk factor for rUTIs in women. Also showed the positive effect of stopping the use of water and hands for anal cleansing after defecation for prevention from rUTIs. We encourage all clinicians for further studies to investigate this issue in the future.