UTI:Standard therapy doesn’t work, so let’s double it

Go to the doctor with a simple case of urinary tract infection (UTI), and you’ll probably walk out with a prescription for a three-day course of antibiotics. Trouble is, it’s a treatment regime that may well not work.

It’s something that doctors have noticed for some time, but it’s only now been backed up by a full study.

A population-based study in the Netherlands found that over 14 per cent of women treated with trimethoprim and nitrofurantoin didn’t improve after three days’ treatment, and the same was the case for nearly 10 per cent of patients given norfloxacin.

The researchers conclude that five-day or even seven-day courses may be more effective. Alternatively, they could turn instead to cranberry juice, but the researchers forgot to mention that.