Nearly half of women are prescribed an inappropriate antibiotic for an uncomplicated UTI, while three quarters are given prescriptions for longer than necessary, a US study has found.

Although there were differences between rural and urban doctors, inappropriate prescribing was “rampant in both”, said lead researcher Dr Anne Butler (PhD) of Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis in Missouri.

The analysis of insurance claims from 2010-15 included more than 670,000 women (median age, 30) with uncomplicated UTI was reported in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology,.

The researchers assessed appropriate versus inappropriate use based on clinical guidelines issued by the US Center of Disease Control (CDC), which recommended empiric use of nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) as first-line agents.