Relapse of Urinary Tract Infection in the Presence of Urinary Tract Calculi: The Role of Bacteria Within the Calculi

Bacteria inside urinary bladder calculi were shown to survive after exposure of the calculi to a 3 per cent. solution of iodine in alcohol, or a concentration of an antibiotic far in excess of that required to inhibit the growth of the isolated organism. Calculi were shown to be able to infect fluid culture media in which they were incubated, even if they had first been exposed to antimicrobial agents. The findings may help to explain the persistence of infection and the ineffectiveness of therapy of urinary tract infection in the presence of urinary tract calculi.

This work was supported by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund (Bahia-Cornell Program).