Managing urinary tract infection in women.

Each year, around 5% of women present to their GPs with dysuria and frequency. About half have a urinary tract infection, as confirmed by the presence of a threshold ('significant') number of bacteria in their urine (usually defined as > or = 10(5)/mL). In the remaining women, symptoms occur in the absence of bacterial infection: this condition is referred to as urethral syndrome. In this article, we discuss the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infection in women.