Review: specific combinations of symptoms effectively rule in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection based on history alone.

Main results 9 studies met the selection criteria. 8 studies examined the accuracy of 9 different symptoms for predicting the presence of UTI. 4 symptoms and 1 sign increased the probability of UTI (table 1). 4 symptoms and 1 sign decreased the probability of UTI (table 2), of which history of vaginal discharge and history of vaginal irritation were the most powerful. 1 study examined combinations of symptoms and found that presence of dysuria and frequency without vaginal discharge or irritation was associated with a high positive LR for UTI (24.6). 1 study of patients with recurrent UTI found that self diagnosis increased the probability of UTI (positive LR 4.0).