In diagnosing pyelonephritis, asking about the characteristics of the complaint and the previous treatment methods help a lot in defining the right diagnosis and suggesting methods of cure. Taking into consideration the chief complaint of the patient, it is very wise to put many questions about urination peculiarities and pain in flanks. As Piccoli, Priola, Vigotti, Guzzo, and Veltri (2014) mention in their research, flank pain is one of the most common indicators of pyelonephritis. Along with other symptoms such as nausea, fever, and chills, pain in flanks signifies that the patient has problems with the urinary system.
It is no wonder that Tylenol did not help the patient since this medicine is a pain reliever. Therefore, instead of removing the cause of pain, the patient only suppressed her physical discomfort for a short time. Meanwhile, there are some effective medicines recommended by the specialists to cure pyelonephritis. In their research, Wagenlehner, Umeh, Steenbergen, Yuan, and Darouiche (2015) remark that such antibiotics as ceftolozane-tazobactam and levofloxacin are highly useful in the treatment of urinary-tract infections and pyelonephritis. As a result of their study, Wagenlehner et al. (2015) conclude that ceftolozane-tazobactam has a better effect for the patients with pyelonephritis than levofloxacin does. One could include ceftolozane-tazobactam in the plan of treatment.
While pyelonephritis mortality rate is rather low, it is still a dangerous disease that may lead to severe complications. (Abraham, Reddy, & George, 2012).
References
Abraham, G., Reddy, Y. N. V., & George, G. (2012). Diagnosis of acute pyelonephritis with recent trends in management. Nephrology Dialysis Transportation, 27(9), 3391-3394.
Piccoli, G. B., Priola, A. M., Vigotti, F. N., Guzzo, A., & Veltri, A. (2014). Renal infarction versus pyelonephritis in a woman presenting with fever and flank pain. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 64(2), 311-314.
Wagenlehner, F. M., Umeh, O., Steenbergen, J., Yuan, G., & Darouiche, R. O. (2015). Ceftolozane-tazobactam compared with levofloxacin in the treatment of complicated urinary-tract infections, including pyelonephritis: A randomised, double-blind, phase 3 trial (ASPECT-cUTI). The Lancet, 385(9981), 1949-1956.