Urinary tract infection (UTI)
Screening and diagnosis
Urinary tract infection (UTI) - MayoClinic.com
If you have symptoms of a urinary infection, contact your doctor promptly. If your doctor suspects you have a UTI, he or she may ask you to turn in a urine sample to determine if pus, red blood cells or bacteria are present in your urine. Laboratory analysis of the urine (urinalysis), sometimes followed by a urine culture, can reveal whether you have an infection. Although no simple test can differentiate between an upper and lower urinary tract infection, the presence of fever and flank pain indicate that the infection likely involves your kidneys.
Complications
When treated promptly and properly, UTIs rarely lead to complications. But left untreated, a urinary tract infection can become something more serious than a set of uncomfortable symptoms.
Untreated UTIs can lead to acute or chronic kidney infections (pyelonephritis), which could permanently damage your kidneys. Young children and older adults are at the greatest risk of kidney damage due to UTIs because their symptoms are often overlooked or mistaken for other conditions. Women who have UTIs while pregnant may also have an increased risk of delivering low birth weight or premature infants.