Are Urinay Tract Infections Associated with Acute Episodes of Schizophrenia?

Abstract

Objectives: To establish any association between urinary tract infections and acute episodes of schizophrenia Methods: A Case control study conducted in University Psychiatry unit, National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL), Colombo, Sri Lanka. Thirty four cases with acute episode of schizophrenia and 30 normal controls matched for age and gender were selected. Cases were patients who met the International Classification of Disease (ICD- 10) criteria to diagnose schizophrenia who attended the inward and outpatient care of the unit. Urine full report (UFR) and urine culture were performed in all cases and controls to detect and confirm urinary tract infections (UTI). Data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Number of cases was 34 and controls were 30. Mean age of cases was 34.8 years while in controls it was 34.1 years. In cases 18 (52.9%) were males and in controls, 16 (53,3%) were males. Among patients who had acute episodes of schizophrenia 5 (14.7%) became positive for UFR and from controls 2 (6.6%) became positive. (Odds ratio=2.4). Urine culture was positive in 1 case and 1 control each. (Odds ratio=0.88). Conclusions: Patients with acute schizophrenia are more likely to have positive urine full report than normal healthy controls. But they are not more likely to experience urinary tract infections than the normal healthy controls during their acute episode of schizophrenia.