320 bacterial strains, isolated in January 1988 in the course of routine diagnostic investigations from patients with urinary tract infections, were compared with 594 strains isolated in 1983. Samples originated from outpatients in Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Most of the strains examined proved to be sensitive to oral chemotherapeutics. No increase in resistance to standard agents was observed from 1983 to 1988; the most frequently isolated organisms are still E. coli and enterococci. In contrast to the situation in hospitals, bacteriological investigation of urinary samples is not mandatory for outpatients with acute urinary tract infection.