Uropathogen distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility in uncomplicated cystitis in Belgium, a high antibiotics prescribing country: 20-year surveillance.

Treatment of cystitis in primary care is usually empirical, guided by the prior probability of causal pathogens and their susceptibility. To re-evaluate empirical treatment guidelines, the actual distribution and susceptibility of uropathogens was examined and compared with two previous surveys in Belgium over the past 20 years. Because of the alarming increase in carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)- and carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli, this specific resistance was explored.