Daily antiseptic as good as antibiotics for recurrent UTI in women
Small UK study shows prophylactic methenamine hippurate is non-inferior to usual antibiotics in reducing incidence
Prophylactic antiseptic treatment of recurrent UTIs is as good as antibiotics for cutting incidence in women, a new UK study suggests.
The multicentre, open-label trial compared the effectiveness of methenamine hippurate with usual antibiotics in reducing infection recurrence in 205 women (mean age 50) with a median of six UTIs the year before.
The researchers randomly assigned participants to receive either guideline-recommended standard treatment of low-dose antibiotics or methenamine hippurate for 12 months.
Those on antibiotics received either once-daily oral nitrofurantoin (50mg or 100mg), trimethoprim (100mg), or cefalexin (250mg), depending on previous urine culture results and individual history of allergy or intolerance.
