Multi-drug resistance is rising in urinary E coli, analysis reveals

U.S. physicians are having more trouble finding effective first-line antibiotics for common urinary tract infections as antimicrobial resistance rises, a new study suggests.

Investigators calculated the overall prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in urine samples from adult and adolescent women between 2011 and 2019. They found that more than a quarter of the E coli from these samples were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, 21% did not respond well to fluoroquinolones, and 4% did not respond to nitrofurantoin, all antibiotics of choice. 

Fully 6.4% of the tested E coli isolates had evidence of antibiotic-resistant enzymes, 14% were resistant to two or more antibiotics, and 4% were resistant to three or more, reported Keith S. Kaye, M.D., MPH, director of the University of Michigan Medical School’s Division of Infectious Diseases in Ann Arbor, MI.