Complications

When treated promptly and properly, lower urinary tract infections rarely lead to complications. But left untreated, a urinary tract infection can have serious consequences.

Complications of a UTI may include:

• Recurrent infections, especially in women who experience two or more UTIs in a six-month period or four or more within a year.
• Permanent kidney damage from an acute or chronic kidney infection (pyelonephritis) due to an untreated UTI.
• Increased risk in pregnant women of delivering low birth weight or premature infants.
• Urethral narrowing (stricture) in men from recurrent urethritis, previously seen with gonococcal urethritis.
• Sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection, especially if the infection works its way up your urinary tract to your kidneys.