Exclusive: FDA warnings persisted as UTIs turned deadly in menopause

CANTON, Georgia – A nursing home assistant found Roselin Shankland struggling to breathe as she reached Room 204 on her morning rounds.

Shankland's pulse dropped to 34 beats a minute. Her blood pressure collapsed.

By the time Shankland reached the hospital the day after Christmas 2023, a urinary tract infection had spread to her bloodstream. Her organs were shutting down.

Six hours later, the 78-year-old retired nurse was dead.

Her death was the devastating end of a common – and often preventable – health threat facing older women. It also reflected a broader failure to provide menopausal women with a widely recommended treatment that can prevent recurrent urinary tract infections.

Menopause increases the risk of UTIs because declining estrogen changes the tissue and bacteria of the vagina and urinary tract, making it easier for harmful bacteria to grow. In older women, those infections are also more likely to spread to the bloodstream, causing sepsis, organ failure and death.

Vaginal estrogen, a low-dose treatment applied directly to the vaginal tissue as a cream, tablet or ring, can help restore those protections and prevent recurrent infections. It can cost as little as a few dollars a month. Major medical groups have recommended…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/life/