September 2022

INTRODUCING THE FIRST COMPLEX UROLOGIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES CLINIC IN THE U.S.

Featuring: Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD, Teresa R. Zembower, MD, and Janna L. Williams, MD

Complex urologic infections are a heterogeneous group of underlying conditions. These patients have upper urinary tract infections (UTIs) and structural or functional abnormalities that reduce the efficacy of antimicrobial therapy. They are at greater risk for treatment failure and morbidity, such as bacteremia and sepsis, perinephric abscess, renal deterioration and emphysematous pyelonephritis. While there are general management principles that can be applied to most patients with complex urologic infections, effective treatment requires a comprehensive, personalized approach to improve patient outcomes.

In pursuit of this goal, the Northwestern Medicine Complex Urologic Infectious Diseases Clinic is the first of its kind in the country. The clinic will provide a multidisciplinary, coordinated approach to care for affected patients. In this Better Edge podcast episode, the clinic’s founders – Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD, of the Northwestern Medicine Department of Urology, and Teresa R. Zembower, MD, and Janna L. Williams, MD, of the Northwestern Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department Medicine – introduce the new clinic and discuss their team’s current projects and future directions.

Anthony J. Schaeffer, MD, is the Herman L. Kretschmer Professor of Urology at Northwestern Medicine. Dr. Schaeffer participated in the committee that evaluated and revised the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) guidelines for the screening and treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB), which are considered the standard for evidence-based treatment.