Urinary tract infections
Table of contents
Linked evidence summaries
- Antibiotic treatment appears to reduce the risk of pyelonephritis in pregnancy and appears to reduce the incidence of preterm delivery and low birthweight babies compared to placebo or no treatment.B
- Three days of antibiotic therapy is similar to 5-10 days in achieving symptomatic cure during uncomplicated UTI treatment, while the longer treatment appears to be more effective in obtaining bacteriological cure.A↑↑
- Oral antibiotic therapy appears to be as effective as parenteral or initial parenteral therapy for severe urinary tract infection.B
- 5-7 days of fluoroquinolone is effective for pyelonephritis in women compared with longer (10-14 days) treatment.A
- Single-dose treatment may be less effective than a 4–7 day course in the treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria in pregnancy.C
- Continuous antibiotic prophylaxis using trimethoprim, nitrofurantoin, or cephalexin is effective in reducing the rate of recurrent UTI in non-pregnant women with uncomplicated UTIs, but side effects are common.A
- Trimethoprim or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole appears to increase the risk hyperkalaemia in the elderly using blockers of the renin-angiotensin system compared with amoxicillin.B
- Cranberry juice appears to decrease the number of symptomatic urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women with recurrent UTIs compared to placebo.B↑
- Vaginal oestrogens appear to be effective for reducing recurrent urinary tract infections compared to placebo in postmenopausal women.B
- Prophylaxis after predisposing events (like intercourse) reduces the incidence of recurrent cystitis.A
- Methenamine hippurate may be beneficial for preventing urinary tract infections (UTIs).C
Search terms
Amoxicillin, Anti-Infective Agents, Urinary, Antibiotic Prophylaxis, Asymptomatic bacteriuria, Bacteriuria, C-Reactive Protein, Cefadroxil, Cefuroxime, Cephalexin, Ciprofloxacin, Coitus, Cystitis, Dysuria, Fosfomycin, Infectious diseases, Internal medicine, Kidney Failure, N10, N11, N12, N30*, N30.0, N34*, N34.1, N39.0, Nephrology, Nitrofurantoin, Norfloxacin, Pseudomonas Infections, Pyelonephritis, Pyuria, R82.7, Recurrence, Recurrent urinary tract infection, Renal Insufficiency, Trimethoprim, Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination, UTI, Ureter, Urethritis, Urinary Tract Infections, Urology, clean-voided urine specimen, drug prophylaxis, methenamine hippurate, postcoital drug prophylaxis, prophylaxis, reinfection, self-medication, urethral syndrome, urinary tract infection in pregnancy