UTI: women seek greater diligence for diagnosis and treatment

London, 19 August 2026 – Analysis of a national survey exploring women’s experiences of acute urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnosis and treatment is released today.

The survey highlights concerns around urine specimen collection, diagnostic uncertainty and the use of antibiotics without reported laboratory confirmation:

• 92% of women took antibiotics for a past UTI, but only 65% ever had a sample sent for lab culture to ascertain a targeted antibiotic treatment
• Only 2% collected a reliable sample with current urine collection methods

Commissioned by specimen collection company Forte Medical and conducted by research business FemSights, the National Patient UTI Survey captured the experiences of 303 women, combining quantitative responses with more than 450 individual comments on UTI symptoms, urine specimen collection, diagnostic testing, antibiotic treatment and access to care.

The findings highlight the complexity of diagnosing and managing recurrent UTI, with respondents reporting challenges at multiple stages of the pathway – from obtaining a urine specimen that meets the guideline requirement for midstream and receiving appropriate collection instructions to accessing testing, receiving results and making decisions about treatment.

UTI was a recurring health issue for a substantial proportion of respondents. 47% reported having experienced a UTI during the previous 12 months, while 44% reported two or more UTIs during the same period.

For women experiencing recurrent symptoms, urine specimen collection and diagnostic testing may therefore form a repeated part of their interaction with healthcare services.

The survey also identified variation in how urine specimens were collected and in the instructions women received. 60% reported using a plain screw-top bottle, while only 49% said they had been clearly instructed to collect the midstream sample recommended in all guidelines.

For some respondents, providing a sample was more than a practical challenge, with women describing embarrassment and uncertainty about how to collect the specimen correctly. Just 2% reported collecting their entire sample cleanly, while others described spills, overflow and difficulties managing the collection process.

The survey also examined the relationship between testing and antibiotic treatment. 92% of respondents said they had taken antibiotics for a previous UTI. Among those who had taken antibiotics, 70% said treatment followed a positive dipstick result, while 16% said it had not and 14% were unsure.

The findings show that laboratory confirmation does not consistently form part of the same patient experience as antibiotic treatment, raising important questions about the diagnostic information available when treatment decisions are made.

This is particularly relevant at a time when antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is placing increasing pressure on healthcare systems worldwide. Accurate diagnosis and appropriate antibiotic selection are important components of antimicrobial stewardship.

Where clinically appropriate, timely access to reliable diagnostic information such as a midstream urine specimen can help clinicians distinguish infection from other causes of urinary symptoms and make treatment decisions based on better evidence.

The challenges described by respondents also extended beyond specimen collection and antibiotic treatment. Women reported difficulties accessing appointments and testing, as well as delays in receiving laboratory results.

Some also described continuing to experience symptoms following an initial negative or inconclusive test, with respondents reporting feeling that their symptoms had not been adequately recognised. Others reported serious subsequent health complications, including kidney infection and sepsis.

Together, these findings highlight the importance of the diagnostic pathway as a whole. Improving the way urine specimens are collected, ensuring women receive clear and consistent midstream instructions, reducing delays in testing and results, and considering the role of rapid diagnostic technologies could all contribute to a more consistent pathway for patients and healthcare professionals.

Giovanna Forte, CEO of Forte Medical, said:
“This survey is about much more than how women collect a urine sample. It provides an important patient perspective on the journey from UTI symptoms to diagnosis and treatment. For many women, particularly those experiencing recurrent infections, it is a repeated journey through symptoms, sample collection, testing and treatment – and our findings suggest there are points along that journey where the process could work better.

Better specimen collection and clearer instructions are an important part of that, but so is timely access to reliable diagnostic information based on a gold standard urine specimen. Scientific American Journal reports that 90% of UTI bacteria are already resistant to one common antibiotic and 82% already resistant to at least two. At a time when antimicrobial resistance is a growing challenge, ensuring that treatment decisions are supported by the best available information is important for both patient care and responsible antibiotic use.”

Ron Daniels BEN, CEO of UK Sepsis Trust & VP of Global Sepsis Alliance, said:
“As a condition responsible for 1 in 5 deaths worldwide, sepsis is the final common pathway to death from most infectious diseases. It is intrinsically interlinked with antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and lack of diagnostic accuracy hampers efforts not only to treat sepsis but also to deliver responsible antimicrobial stewardship.
With between 15 and 20% of cases in high income countries being caused by urinary tract infection, and with resistance to first-line treatment among the most common urinary pathogens running as high as 50% in some regions, any product which improves diagnostic accuracy will not only improve outcomes for individual patients but is also likely to help us counter the growing, global threat of AMR.

With between 15 and 20% of cases in high income countries being caused by urinary tract infection, and with resistance to first-line treatment among the most common urinary pathogens running as high as 50% in some regions, any product which improves diagnostic accuracy will not only improve outcomes for individual patients but is also likely to help us counter the growing, global threat of AMR.”

The full survey report is 20260819_UTI_Survey_Analysis_Report

ENDS

Note to Editors:

Forte Medical is a UK medical technology company focused on improving the accuracy and patient experience of urine specimen collection. Founded by Giovanna Forte together with her brother, Dr Vincent Forte, the company developed Peezy Midstream, a urine collection system designed to automate the collection of midstream specimens for UTI and prenatal screening. Forte Medical’s work focuses on improving urine specimen quality, supporting more reliable diagnostic testing and helping to make urine collection cleaner, more hygienic and dignified for patients. More information is available here. Forte Medical manufactures in the UK.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Forte Medical engagement team at engagement@forte-medical.com